Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show

STARRING: Vince Vaughn, Sebastian Maniscalco View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 02/08/2008 DATE SCREENED: 02/05/2008 The Verdict GOOD - See it in the theater

In 2005 Vince Vaughn decided to hit the road, doing 30 comedy shows in 30 nights, starring 4 relatively unknown comics that are friends of his. They all pack themselves on a bus, starting in Hollywood and ending up in Chicago, with a camera crew documenting the entire trip. The stand-up comedians are Ahmed Ahmed, John ‘Cap’ Caparulo, Bret Ernst & Sebastian Maniscalco. Along the tour, Vince does improvised skits in selected cities with Justin Long, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas Story), and Keir O'Donnell.

The film starts out showing us some of the comedy routines. We see the comedians do well, and we even see Sebastian bomb in San Diego with what I thought were great jokes about men in flip-flops. As the film goes along we learn more about the comics. We meet their families, and through conversations with the families and back stories from the comedians we get interesting insight into what makes these comedians tick. Things take a more serious turn as they are traveling through Louisiana when hurricane Katrina hit. They had to modify the tour schedule to avoid the hard hit areas. They also added benefit shows and handed out free tickets to hurricane survivors.

Every one of the 4 comedians is very funny. Each has a slightly different style of comedy, so everyone should be able to get some laughs from this movie. Ahmed jokes about his Egyptian background and how he is now assumed to be a terrorist. Bret does a lot of physical comedy, including a great routine about roller skating as a kid. Cap reminds you of Larry the Cable Guy and is the most ‘blue’ of the comedians, but then you realize why when you find out that his father let him listen to Richard Pryor albums from the time he was 4 years old. Sebastian always seems upset as he points out funny observations, ranging from men in flip flops to men who enjoy apple martinis.

The director, Ari Sandel, was on hand for a Q&A session after the film. He didn’t originally plan to interview everyone’s families, but that came about during the tour as families came out to the shows. He was pressed to pick a favorite comedian of the 4, and he said Sebastian. I would have to agree. To even be on the tour Sebastian had to take leave from waiting tables at an LA restaurant. I was glad to find out that he hasn’t worked as a waiter for another day since the tour. Definitely keep an eye out for him.

Vine Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show kept me interested and laughing throughout. Although Vince’s name is used to promote the film, he really steps back after the first 30 minutes and lets these comedians shine, on stage and off. See this one in the theater.