In September 2005, actor Vince Vaughn - he of the motorized mouth and rapid-fire repartee - hired a few buses, grabbed four of his aspiring comedian friends, and set out on a month-long journey from, as the subtitle would put it, "Hollywood to the Heartland". The resulting documentary, "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights", plays like a home movie from some of your old beer-drinking college buddies. It doesn't shed much light on the plight of struggling comics, but as a comic documentary, it's much better than Jerry Seinfeld's 2002 dud "Comedian".
The first problem is that none of the comedians are particularly memorable, though each has his moments. The Egyptian comic Ahmed Ahmed, a former Vaughn roommate, concentrates on the trials of being an Arab-American nowadays, and the stocky John Caparulo cashes in nicely on his gravelly voice and generally Cartman-esque persona. Meanwhile, Sebastian Maniscalco and Bret Ernst - both tall, thin white guys with city accents - play up the "Guido" card (though Mr. Maniscalco clearly has more metrosexual in him). One wonders about Mr. Vaughn's selection criteria. Each comic has a smattering of good material, but after spending two hours with them, none looks primed to "break out". Much like life, a little more diversity might have made for a more interesting journey.
As for Mr. Vaughn himself, he's always a welcome screen presence. He's got charisma to spare whether he's introducing the show or waking up at 1:30 in the afternoon after a boys-will-be-boys night out (sleeping arrangements are never illuminated but Mr. Vaughn clearly bunks solo). He also appears to have an endless stream of famous friends to pull from. Justin Long ("Live Free or Die Hard") and Keir O'Donnell (the freaky brother with an unhealthy obsession with Mr. Vaughn's character in "Wedding Crashers") inexplicably tag along for the ride. Plus, who knew Peter Billingsley of that holiday staple "A Christmas Story" was such a good buddy. Footage of their first meeting on a steroid-themed "Afternoon Special" is particularly humorous.
The film injects some mercifully quick back-story on each comedian, giving a brief glimpse into what drives these funnymen. By and large they're each simply nice guys who crave the validation of the notoriously finicky crowds. If Mr. Vaughn's final farewell is to be believed, the troupe never had a bad show. That may explain why the film is devoid of tension. It can't sustain its almost two-hour running time despite lots of joking around and the playful use of a U.S. map (a la "Raiders of the Lost Ark") to tie it all together. Much is made over the taxing, non-stop thirty day/thirty night schedule, but aside from hangovers and some frayed tempers due to the cramped mobile accommodations, the boys have a great time (a tearful goodbye brings to mind the last day of summer camp).
Credit belongs to director Ari Sandel and his editors Jim Kelly and Dan Lebental for weeding through what must have been an extensive amount of footage (the potential DVD extras make the mind reel). Mr. Vaughn, in an opening voice-over interview, expresses some lofty goals for the tour. He wants people to find out about themselves; if they walk away changed by the experience, that's fine by him. Well, okay. But Vince, it's really just a documentary about a month-long comedy roadshow and, in the end, the filmmakers are able to stitch together a pretty good show - the equivalent of watching two hours of YouTube footage from some frat house friends. It's not life-changing, but it's good for a few laughs.
