Calling on the spirit of Buffalo Bill’s Old West variety shows, Vince Vaughn took to the road back in September 2005 determined to travel some 6000 miles to perform 30 shows in 30 days. Vaughn, who's scored well on the big screen in Swingers, Old School , and Wedding Crashers , uses his celebrity to help promote these upcoming comedians plucked from LA’s Comedy Store and given a chance to breakout. It’s nice to see Vaughn use his clout to help give these comics a bigger stage and to get people to come out to the show – both the lives shows and now the documentary film.
Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show puts a spin on the usual comedy concert film by going on the road with these guys and supplementing the onstage performances with portraits of each of the four comedians. So not only do we get to see them perform but we also get to see them struggle with the frantic pace of being constantly on the road, discuss their craft, and even meet with their parents.
The film begins its comedy tour at the Music Box Theater in Hollywood. We hear Vaughn, in what appears to be radio interviews, explaining why he felt the need to put this tour and this film together. He not only expresses affection for a particular style of live comedy but also a love for driving across America. He says he also wants to show how these stand-ups draw on their own lives for material. Not a wildly original observation but one that’s nicely played out in the course of the film.
Justin Long and Vince Vaughn engage in some improv (Picturehouse)
Vaughn engages in some improv with such “surprise” guests as Justin Long (who does a funny impersonation of Vaughn in Swingers), Dwight Yoakam, Jon Favreau, Keir O’Donnell, and Peter Billingsley. Billingsley played Ralphie in A Christmas Story, and he became friends with Vaughn back when they did an after school special together. That moment is relived on stage with a hilarious clip from the 1990 CBS Schoolbreak Special The Fourth Man . Although Vaughn’s presence is definitely felt, he doesn’t hog the stage but rather turns the spotlight on the four comics.
The comedians each travel slightly different comic terrain although all favor blue material (hence the R rating). Ahmed Ahmed draws on his Egyptian heritage for laughs. He informs us that Arabs are the new blacks, and women date him because he’s exotic and sure to shock the folks. But he also reveals that he was arrested in Vegas in what was little more than racial profiling in the post 9/11 war on terror. But he’s managed to work that into his comedy. While Ahmed deals in racial stereotypes, Caparulo reflects a white, working class mentality. Caparulo also reacts badly to what he perceived as a heckler at one performance and he gets some advice from Vaughn about developing a thicker skin and learning to ignore or work with that kind of negative energy.
Ernst taps into a kind of wiseguy comic style that pokes fun at the way men behave in bars and employs some physical antics to explain the social dynamics of the roller rink crowd. Maniscalco serves up observations about modern male and proves to have his own quirks on the road – needing long showers and dry cleaned underwear. When picked by Vaughn, he was still waitering (sometimes he confesses he would run over to a club to do his routine while on break and still in his waiter’s uniform) and his dream is to never have to go back to waiting tables.
Vince Vaughn (center) and comedians Ernst, Caparulo, Maniscalco and Ahmed (Picturehouse)
Director Ari Sandel mines some of the film’s best material in the scenes between the comics and their parents. Ahmed’s parents initially balked at their son’s choice of careers, now his dad tries to give him jokes. On the other hand, Ernst’s mom provides support and laughs at all his jokes. And Caparulo’s mom says she knew he would be an “entertainer, cult leader or a felon.” Sandel also conveys the passion these guys have for performing live comedy.
The film has an awkward moment, though, as the tired comedians grumble about having to visit a campground-turned-temporary-shelter for Hurricane Katrina survivors to hand out free tickets. The experience seems to humble them, after all having a joke bomb or dealing a heckler is trivial compared to the losses and hardships these folks face. In addition to distributing some free passes, Vaughn and company decide to donate proceeds from the show to victims. But the film doesn’t quite know how to handle this real life tragedy. It’s as if this real drama disrupted Sandal determination to show what a good time was being had by all.
As for the comedy, it’s a mixed, mostly funny potpourri with each comedian getting a chance to shine and deliver some well-honed material. When a joke or a routine works in front of a live crowd, you do get a sense of the kind of adrenaline rush it gives the performers. All four prove talented and worthy of this shot at stardom. A wrap-up at the end of the film informs us that at least Maniscalco hasn’t gone back to waitering.
Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show
(rated R for pervasive language and some sex-related humor) is a modest documentary that provides a good showcase for these four comedians. It provides occasional insight into the creative process of putting together a stand up act but remains more genial than in depth. We walk away from the film smiling and hoping that these nice guys will all do well in what’s decidedly a tough business.
As a side note: San Diego gets a mention for providing a venue without a working toilet, and for unnerving Sebastian Mansicalco when he cracks a joke about men wearing flip flips and the joke bombs painfully. We may be America’s Finest City but I guess we don’t have a sense of humor about men’s footwear.
Companion viewing:
Swingers, Richard Pryor Live and In Concert, Chris Rock: Bring the Pain, I’m the One that I Want
