In 2005, actor Vince Vaughn gathered together a handful of comedians from The Comedy Store in Hollywood - Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, Bret Ernst and Sebastian Maniscalco - built an extended stand-up show around their acts, then took it on the road for a 30-city-in-30-day whirlwind tour across the United States, starting in Los Angeles and ending in Chicago, with 28 stops in between. Vaughn also brought a few documentary filmmakers along for the ride, the result being "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show," an at best fair-to-middling account of that event.Some of the backstage stuff is of moderate interest - particularly the comics offering a free show to some Hurricane Katrina refugees and Ernst's touching reflections on his older brother who died of AIDS. But one can only hope that we're not being treated to the best of the on-stage material here. For if truth be told, there aren't nearly as many laughs to be gleaned from these performances as one might expect given the caliber of talent involved. At best, the routines elicit a few hearty chuckles, along with a surprising number of humor-deprived dead spots. The behind-the-scenes activities are marginally more entertaining (the interviews with the boys' families are sometimes quite informative and amusing), but the movie doesn't provide nearly the depth of insight into the world of standup comedy that, say, Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedian" did a few years back.Still the guys in the group are likable enough and their camaraderie ultimately becomes infectious, earning the movie at least a lukewarm recommendation, especially for devotees of the subject.

In Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights—Hollywood to the Heartland, if the four relatively unknown comics (a "Guido," an Ohio rube, an Arab, and a non-descript guy) accompanying Vaughn on a 30 day tour of 30 cities had been better, the documentary would have been better as well. Sadly this tepid montage of the trip is rarely funny, rarely imaginative, although the infectious good will of Vaughn saves it from total banality.Jerry Seinfeld's Comedian (2002) and the arch Aristocrats (2005) have far more humorous moments while also revealing the humanity of the performers. Vaughn tries with limited success to show the heart of the comics between acts, but, alas, not one is interesting enough to have more than a beer with.As with most of these documentaries, there are only snippets of the acts and then cutting to another performer or a personal note. Thus, we can never understand fully why a comedian will or will not make the big time. One thing I do know, this January graveyard toss off will not make it big time. I'll ask you in December if you think it should be nominated for best documentary; you'll haveto research it on IMDb to remember.

This documentary took me by surprise because it not only made me laugh, but it showed me the struggle comedians have to go through to perform their material in different environments, and how their personal lives shape their material. The thing I liked about the movie was that it actually took me on a journey with these guys and I felt like I got to know them instead of just the same format most stand-up documentaries offer of strictly on stage performances. Again, Vince is pushing the envelope by doing things his way...resulting in a heartfelt, honest and hilarious journey on film. Great job, and keep doing things your way...it works!

This movie should be a stand-up concert film, but for some reason its a road movie instead. The comedians are funny when you do get to see them on stage, but most of the movie is spent looking at a "Raiders of the Lost Ark" map trace the trip across America, cut with footage of the tour bus and then an audience laughing. Insert a cliché song about the city we're about to visit. They pad the movie out with a last minute Katrina benefit show, which seemed kind of melodramatic (especially for a comedy). Vince Vaughn even shows up on occasion throughout the film to show us his range of talent (see wedding crashers...NOT!). The money shot is definitely Vince and his friend Peter Bilingsley acting out their parts from a steroids after-school special.