Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland
Encyclopedia
Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights – Hollywood to the Heartland is a comedy documentary film directed by Ari Sandel
and follows the 30 day comedy of tour of several stand up comedians
. It premiered September 8, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival
. It opened in limited release
in the United States on February 8, 2008.
and four stand-up comedians in the spirit of Wild West Shows
. Vaughn picked four comedians from The Comedy Store
in Los Angeles
(Ahmed Ahmed
, John Caparulo
, Bret Ernst
and Sebastian Maniscalco
) for the tour. The tour began September 12, 2005 in Hollywood
at the Music Box Theater and spanned 30 shows over 30 consecutive nights in 30 cities across the United States. Vince Vaughn acts as emcee and performs improv
sketches with surprise guests. The comedians traveled over 6,000 miles on their tour and included stops in the Western
, Southern
, and Midwestern
states. The film highlights their performances on-stage and contains interviews with the various comedians.
reported that 56% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 75 reviews, with the consensus that the film "has some entertaining moments, but is a mostly hit-and-miss documentary." Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 reviews.
Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle
wrote "It's a funny comedy, and sometimes an even better drama" and called it a "nice companion piece" to the 2002 film Comedian
. Hartlaub said "The comics all have their good and bad moments, but John Caparulo
is arguably the most hilarious both on- and offstage" and "the movie is best when Vaughn plays off his own pop culture stature." Hartlaub also wrote that "director Ari Sandel paces the film well."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
described the film as "more of a backstage documentary" than a concert film. Holden wrote the film "includes some moderately funny snippets of actual performances" but "we never see a complete performance or even a quarter of one." Holden called it "among the tamest tours ever filmed." Holden wrote that the tour was re-routed because it came after Hurricane Katrina
hit the Gulf Coast
. Holden wrote "In the most revealing scene Mr. Vaughn and his crew visit an Alabama
trailer camp to give free tickets to the residents, many of them New Orleans evacuees who lost everything."
Kyle Smith
of the New York Post
gave the film one star out of four, writing "A 2½-year-old collection of mediocre stand-up routines and dull backstage chatter, Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show demonstrates why comedy clubs require you to have a couple of drinks." Smith said "Only about 40 percent of the movie is even comedy; the rest consists of lots of shots of maps" and said the film was "worse than open-mike night."
in the United States on February 8, 2008 and grossed $464,170 in 962 theaters that weekend, averaging $482 per theater. The film grossed a total of $603,894 after three weeks in theaters.
Ari Sandel
Ari Sandel is the director of the short film, West Bank Story, which won the 2006 Academy Award in the category Best Short Film ....
and follows the 30 day comedy of tour of several stand up comedians
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
. It premiered September 8, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
. It opened in limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States on February 8, 2008.
Synopsis
The documentary follows the month-long live comedy variety tour of Vince VaughnVince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
and four stand-up comedians in the spirit of Wild West Shows
Wild West Shows
Wild West Shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe. The first and prototypical wild west show was Buffalo Bill's, formed in 1883 and lasting until 1913...
. Vaughn picked four comedians from The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. It has a sister comedy club in La Jolla, San Diego, California.-History:...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(Ahmed Ahmed
Ahmed Ahmed
-Early life:Ahmed Ahmed was born in Helwan, Egypt. His family came to the United States when he was one month old and he grew up in Riverside, California.-Career:...
, John Caparulo
John Caparulo
John Caparulo is an American stand-up comedian. He is perhaps best known for his appearances on the late night E! talk show, Chelsea Lately.-Early life:...
, Bret Ernst
Bret Ernst
Bret Ernst is an American stand-up comedian. He was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland, along with Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, and Sebastian Maniscalco. Ernst has also appeared on the television programs Comedy...
and Sebastian Maniscalco
Sebastian Maniscalco
Sebastian Maniscalco is an American stand-up comedian born in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland, along with Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, and Bret Ernst...
) for the tour. The tour began September 12, 2005 in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
at the Music Box Theater and spanned 30 shows over 30 consecutive nights in 30 cities across the United States. Vince Vaughn acts as emcee and performs improv
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
sketches with surprise guests. The comedians traveled over 6,000 miles on their tour and included stops in the Western
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, Southern
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, and Midwestern
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
states. The film highlights their performances on-stage and contains interviews with the various comedians.
Cast
- Ahmed AhmedAhmed Ahmed-Early life:Ahmed Ahmed was born in Helwan, Egypt. His family came to the United States when he was one month old and he grew up in Riverside, California.-Career:...
- Peter BillingsleyPeter BillingsleyPeter Billingsley , also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor, director, and producer best known for his role as Ralphie in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. He began his career as an infant, in television commercials.-Early life, family and...
- John CaparuloJohn CaparuloJohn Caparulo is an American stand-up comedian. He is perhaps best known for his appearances on the late night E! talk show, Chelsea Lately.-Early life:...
- Bret ErnstBret ErnstBret Ernst is an American stand-up comedian. He was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland, along with Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, and Sebastian Maniscalco. Ernst has also appeared on the television programs Comedy...
- Jon FavreauJon FavreauJonathan Kolia "Jon" Favreau is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and comedian. As an actor, he is best known for his roles in Rudy, Swingers , Very Bad Things, and The Break-Up. His notable directorial efforts include Elf, Iron Man and its sequel, and Cowboys & Aliens...
- Justin LongJustin LongJustin Jacob Long is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his roles in the Hollywood films Galaxy Quest, Jeepers Creepers, Dodgeball, Live Free or Die Hard, He's Just Not That into You, Drag Me to Hell, and Youth in Revolt, and his personification of a Mac in Apple's "Get a...
- Sebastian ManiscalcoSebastian ManiscalcoSebastian Maniscalco is an American stand-up comedian born in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He was one of four comedians featured in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland, along with Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, and Bret Ernst...
- Keir O'DonnellKeir O'DonnellKeir O'Donnell is an Australian actor best known for his roles in the comedy films Wedding Crashers and Paul Blart: Mall Cop...
- Vince VaughnVince VaughnVincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
Production
Vince Vaughn was a producer for the film. Vaughn's older sister Victoria was also a producer. Chris Henkel, Paul Ruffolo, Dave Rutherford, and Jani Zandovskis served as camera operators. The show director was Chad Horning. The stage manager was Jason Ruffolo.Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 56% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 75 reviews, with the consensus that the film "has some entertaining moments, but is a mostly hit-and-miss documentary." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 reviews.
Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote "It's a funny comedy, and sometimes an even better drama" and called it a "nice companion piece" to the 2002 film Comedian
Comedian (film)
Comedian is a 2002 documentary focusing on Jerry Seinfeld that explores the other side of stand-up comedy; that is, the preparation, politics, nerves, creativity, and so on. The film also features an up-and-coming comic named Orny Adams as he struggles to make it in show business...
. Hartlaub said "The comics all have their good and bad moments, but John Caparulo
John Caparulo
John Caparulo is an American stand-up comedian. He is perhaps best known for his appearances on the late night E! talk show, Chelsea Lately.-Early life:...
is arguably the most hilarious both on- and offstage" and "the movie is best when Vaughn plays off his own pop culture stature." Hartlaub also wrote that "director Ari Sandel paces the film well."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described the film as "more of a backstage documentary" than a concert film. Holden wrote the film "includes some moderately funny snippets of actual performances" but "we never see a complete performance or even a quarter of one." Holden called it "among the tamest tours ever filmed." Holden wrote that the tour was re-routed because it came after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
hit the Gulf Coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
. Holden wrote "In the most revealing scene Mr. Vaughn and his crew visit an Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
trailer camp to give free tickets to the residents, many of them New Orleans evacuees who lost everything."
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith is an American critic, novelist and essayist. He is a staff film critic for the New York Post. His film reviewing style has been called "an exercise in hilarious hostility" by Entertainment Weekly....
of the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
gave the film one star out of four, writing "A 2½-year-old collection of mediocre stand-up routines and dull backstage chatter, Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show demonstrates why comedy clubs require you to have a couple of drinks." Smith said "Only about 40 percent of the movie is even comedy; the rest consists of lots of shots of maps" and said the film was "worse than open-mike night."
Box office performance
The film opened in limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States on February 8, 2008 and grossed $464,170 in 962 theaters that weekend, averaging $482 per theater. The film grossed a total of $603,894 after three weeks in theaters.