Pauly Shore Entertainment Art Chicago Improv Schaumburg, Ill. January 12, 2007

Upon arriving at the club, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was different than the clubs and bars I’m used to performing in. The upscale club has a huge performance space with spacious seating. The club looks more like a theatre where you would come to see a play rather than stand-up comedy. Another plus was that the menu had not only drinks but an appetizing variety of food so club goers could combine dinner and entertainment. I couldn’t resist the Improv Nachos, which could have easily fed five people. Good food, good drinks; the mood was set for some good entertainment, and following a funny feature act, emcee Pauly Shore took the stage. I had been looking forward to seeing Pauly live on stage, but in all honesty I did not have high expectations for his stand up performance based on his reputation in the comic circuit.

For those who might not know Pauly Shore for a short time was one of the biggest icons in American pop culture. Growing up the son of the founders of the famous Comedy Store in L.A., Pauly was exposed to some of the best working comedians during his formative years. Pauly used these learning experiences when he hit it big doing a butt load of appearances on MTV. Then came the string of equally bad but “guilty pleasure” movies like Son In Law, Bio-Dome, Jury Duty, In The Army Now, and Encino Man. After a promising start, Pauly like many before him, faded into obscurity. Pauly has been hitting the comeback circuit, however, with appearances in the hit HBO show Entourage and his own reality show Minding The Store. Presently, Pauly spends much of his time as a touring stand-up, honing his act.

Pauly Shore is not one of our greatest comedians, nor is he a great actor; however, there is a likeability factor about him, which is what made him famous in the first place. The act I saw was not outrageously intelligent or hysterically funny, but the audience, including myself, had a wonderful time. As expected, Pauly opened with a ton of energy making references to his films and his famous character “The Weasel.” His act consists mostly of his talking about his short-lived Hollywood career in a good natured, healthy way. And that, perhaps, is the funniest thing about Pauly -- his ability to make fun of himself. At one point he says, “People always ask me when I’m going to do another movie. And I say when somebody asks me to.” He also makes a humorous allusion to Sly Stallone and his latest Rocky movie, claiming he would gladly bring “The Weasel” back for Encino Man 2. The now 38-year-old comedian talked about what it’s like to get older, again poking fun at himself in his self-effacing way. Then there was a lot of talk about having sex, including having sex with co-stars, which always scores with audiences wanting their latest fix on celebrity lifestyles.

Were Pauly’s jokes sophisticated or edgy? No. Did his punch lines have audience members rolling in the aisles? No. Did Pauly bring an energy and lovability to the stage that helped the audience look past weak spots in his act and enjoy the show? Yes. The audience at Improv got exactly what they paid for going into this show: a fun romp down memory lane with Pauly Shore. Money well spent.

Comments

Great Review Written by Guest on 2007-01-21 08:29:22   Great Review. Sounds like a club worth visiting!

Improv rocks! Written by Guest on 2007-01-25 10:00:52 I saw Frank Caliendo there and loved it. Not smoky, either, which was my concern!

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