Vince Vaughn, ‘live’ on a pure ego trip

Justin Long (left) and Vince Vaughn (right) in ''Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show.''

“Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show from Hollywood to the Heartland” is a pure ego trip.
Vaughn developed its “live” version on tour as well as the movie that shows its highlights.  Although he’s the man in charge, he gallantly passes the honor around to give his cast members a chance to show what they can do.

Or, rather, what they can say. The comedians use language that the puberty set will readily recognize as the language of their peers. All the usual sexual and scatological words are said and often repeated so no one watching and listening is likely to learn any new words.

They are the same words teenagers have been using since Anglo-Saxon days, but the studio audience watching the “Comedy Show” as it is being performed and filmed will yell, laugh, scream and clap their hands as if they are watching a new art form.

That brings up a question: Is language an art form in itself? Or does it become art because of the way it’s used? In “Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show” it’s used repetitively. There are no personality perks to make the language sound new, different or, in spite of the camera shots of its “live” audience reactions, funny. Constant repetition is one reason why.

Vaughn’s tour covered 30 major cities in 30 days. A map onscreen forecasts each city. We see legendary auditoriums and other sights as the tour covers the Southwest, Southeast and other areas of the country, winding up in Chicago.

Jon Favreau is in it because he’s Vince Vaughn’s longtime friend. He’s also made movies with the likes of Ben Affleck and others in Affleck’s age group.

Peter Billingsley is an executive producer, and a film clip of his acting in the classic comedy, “A Christmas Story,” reminds us of his delightful performance as the youngster that earnestly wanted a shotgun for Christmas even though everyone warned him that he would put his eye out if he got that shotgun.

Ahmed Ahmed is one of the comedians and one of the most relaxed performers in the show. He doesn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself to get laughs. He’s an Egyptian, and people from his corner of the world rarely say or do anything funny in Hollywood movies. They are often accused of terrorism, and Ahmed laughs about it.

His lack of self-consciousness gives him the edge over many of the other comedians. He doesn’t need to use words alone to get laughs. He literally has a talent to amuse with his facial expressions and dialogue.
The other participants recite forbidden words to get laughs. Without exception, they smile self-consciously when the studio audience roars in appreciation.

The documentary pauses to pay tribute to the late Buck Owens when touring through his home territory. One comedian refers to Owens as a man from Sherman, Texas, who lived the life the characters in “The Grapes of Wrath” lived.

The documentary also pays tribute to Roy Clark and Dwight Yoakam by showing scenes from their TV sketches when Vaughn’s tour bus goes through home territories. It’s a meaningful tribute since Owens, Clark and Yoakam didn’t use raunchy language in their acts. It also means there are no similarities between them and the comedians in Vaughn’s show.  

Studio rating: R for language
Bob says: “*%&!@+$%^*!!”  (and one star)