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By Britt Gillette
Among all the comedies available today, the Blue Collar Comedy
Tour ranks number one in the "must see" category. Few
comedians
can find an audience among a broad range of demographic
groups,
and with varying tastes among individuals, it's quite
difficult
to find universally entertaining people. But Blue Collar
Comedy
Tour showcases four stand-up comics of such ability. The
stand-up routines are filmed in Phoenix with intermittent
features on the exploits of each of the men as they travel the
country on their popular comedy tour. Opening up with all four
men fishing in a lake, amazingly even the conversations
between
these men are hilarious and entertaining. What then could we
expect when they take the stage? Only the best of modern
redneck, working man comedy…
One of the rising stars of stand-up, Ron White brandishes his
liquor and tobacco drenched persona along with a loveable
sarcasm to produce one of the better comic routines of the
decade. White chronicles his 9-minute plane ride to Phoenix
which almost ended in tragedy when the plane was forced to
turn
around in mid-flight due to equipment trouble. But the event
didn't phase the alcohol-induced outlook of White who advises
the passenger next to him (a man who has something to live
for,
unlike White) that if one engine goes out, the other will take
them right to the scene of the crash. And to top it off,
they'll beat the paramedics by thirty minutes…
White's act is well followed by Larry The Cable Guy, a
redneck's redneck who lives by the catchphrase "Get 'r done!"
Speaking in a redneck dialect that borders on another
language,
Larry The Cable Guy is a barrel of laughs for any American who
loves apple pie. Providing unique insight into the world at
large, his audience is presented with the great conundrum of
the dog dish water purifier (among other things). Why should
he
buy a water purifier for an animal that eats its own crap? If
you're unfamiliar with this guy's routine, you need to pick up
a copy of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour DVD just for him alone
(or for that matter - any of these comics merit a full-length
DVD by themselves).
Beginning the second half of the movie is Bill Engvall, a
comic
who takes a more well-spoken, family man approach to his
routine. I first saw Bill on The Tonight Show when I was ten
years old. He delivered the best stand-up routine I've ever
seen, and I still remember much of it word-for-word to this
day… Central to the routine was his trademark tagline "Here's
your sign" (referring to a "stupid sign" handed out to people
who make dumb remarks). Just like his colleague Jeff
Foxworthy,
Engvall has managed to keep that tagline not only going, but
while inventing a hilarious treasure trove of new material.
This guy is just plain funny…
Rounding out the final one-man routine is Jeff Foxworthy,
perhaps the most famous of the crowd due to his widely
promoted
"you might be a redneck if…" jokes. Foxworthy starts off with
a
standard routine that's really funny (this part of his career
has been widely overlooked), but then he naturally moves into
the part of the routine that people love to hear - the redneck
jokes. My favorite of the whole Blue Collar Comedy Tour DVD is
his line "If a beaver bites off your nipple, you might be a
redneck". Based on a true story, you simply have to watch Blue
Collar Comedy Tour in order to understand just how hilarious
that one is…
But the funniest part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour DVD is
when all the comics are finished with their individual
routines
and they gather together on stage to tell personal stories to
the audience. Each story keeps the belly laughs rolling, and
each comic has his moments, but Ron White steals this part of
the show with his "tater salad" story. Recounting the story of
his recent drunk in public arrest (he was actually drunk in
the
bar - they threw him into public), White tells the tale of his
rise from a small town in Texas to a life replete with
criminal
aliases such "tater salad" and his fathering of a child named
"tater tot". You just have to it to really enjoy it!
With a host of talented funnymen, the Blue Collar Comedy Tour
DVD is grade-A entertainment. Certain to be an enduring
classic
for years to come, this is one comedy film you don't want to
miss…
About The Author: Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report
(thedvdreport.blogspot.com), a blog where you can find
more reviews like this one.
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