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A friend of mine got tickets to a screening of “Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show.” I hadn’t heard about the movie, but a screening sounded fun, and with words like “comedy” and “Vince Vaughn” in the title, I figured I’d at least laugh a little – and what more can a guy ask for on a Wednesday night.

I laughed. In fact, I may have actually peed my pants, but I was nursing a 169 ounce Coke, so I can’t guarantee that you will also pee your pants. I do think you’ll laugh more than you’ve laughed in quite a while.

The movie is conceptually interesting. I’ll let the professional writers tell you about it. “In the fall of 2005, ‘Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights, Hollywood to the Heartland’ traveled over 6,000 miles across the country, performing 30 shows in 30 days. The entire tour, including performances, behind-the-scenes action, and interviews with Vince, the comedians and special guests, was captured on film.” (more here)

The four comedians featured in the movie are Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, Bret Ernst and Sebastian Maniscalco. Four funny guys, and not just on stage. I listen to stand-up on my satellite radio every day, but it was totally different and quite refreshing to see comedians being people. The sections of the performances definitely stand out in the movie, and if it was just these four guys doing their stand up, I’d probably go see it.

But, it’s the other stuff that makes this a movie worth seeing. Pieces of the comedians lives – where they came from, why they’re doing comedy, what struggles they face – are artfully weaved in to the film. If you were to see them on stage, you’d probably want hang out with them. But, it’s the characterization of these guys through their stories that really makes you feel like you know them. By the end of the film you are really rooting for them to make it.

And, yes, these guys are still trying hard to make it. Had this been the Redneck comedy tour, you’d be hard pressed to sit through some of the back story, because you know that Jeff and Larry and the others made it, so the end is written, and there is nothing to hope for. At the end of this film, (and I’m not really giving anything away here – it’s only a thirty day tour, so not much life-changing stuff happens) you are still hoping in earnest that this is going to give these guys the exposure they need to make their dreams come true. And, if not, you still hope maybe you can have a beer with them some day.

I’m also hoping there is a soundtrack available. My wife kept telling me to stop singing, but I couldn’t help it – the music was fun. Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens make appearances in the film, as do several friends of Vince including Peter Billingsley (A Christmas Story, Elf), Justin Long (lots of stuff I haven’t seen – I thought he was the Mac guy, but I guess not) and Jon Favreau (this drove me crazy for a while. I knew I’d seen him a lot, but I couldn’t place him. He was the doctor in Elf, but that wasn’t it. Thanks to IMDB, I cleared it up – he was Monica’s boyfriend in Friends.) The pieces with these guys are a small part of the film, but they add a little to the feeling that this tour was one long crazy-fest.

If you like to laugh, then I think you’ll dig this movie. If you have kids, leave them at home. And, pee before you go in.

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