CORPORATE LINE: Sporting a cut-off flannel shirt and armed with a truckload of one-liners, Larry the Cable Guy is America’s reigning king of blue-collar comedy. Now, after two #1 comedy tours (out-selling both Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock), two hit concert films, a best-selling book, two chart-topping comedy albums and a multi-platinum DVD special, Larry makes his feature film debut in the outrageous Lionsgate comedy, LARRY THE CABLE GUY: HEALTH INSPECTOR.
Larry plays a big city health inspector who’s happy with his usual beat of greasy spoon diners and low-rent ethnic restaurants. But his easygoing life is turned upside-down when he’s saddled with a straight-arrow rookie partner (Iris Bahr) and assigned the biggest case of his career: investigating an outbreak of mysterious food poisonings at the city’s swankiest restaurants. Infuriating restaurateurs with his irreverence, Larry still manages to charm a sweet, shy waitress (Megyn Price) into a budding romance. But when his unorthodox methods cost him his job, Larry has to go undercover to bring the conspirators to justice and ‘Git-R-Done!’
A hilarious comedy in the vein of “Something About Mary” and “Dumb and Dumber” and chock-full of Larry the Cable Guy’s trademark, take-no-prisoners humor, LARRY THE CABLE GUY: HEALTH INSPECTOR marks the arrival of a new low-brow hero. The film is directed by Trent Cooper, and also stars Joanna Cassidy, Tony Hale, Tom Wilson and Joe Pantoliano.
THE REVIEW: Larry The Cable Guy is funny. Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector is not. This movie doesn’t get close to ever being humorous. It’s a shame because there haven’t been many good screwball comedies in the last five or so years. Larry The Cable Guy tries to bring back the silly films from the ‘80s but he lacks the energy and wit that made movies like Caddy Shack great. Seeing Larry The Cable Guy’s butt crack isn’t funny. Larry The Cable Guy trying to reintroduce the toilet scene that was so funny in Dumb and Dumber falls flatter than road kill.
It’s not bad in theory to try and play up fart jokes and asinine goofiness. We all like wackiness—the problem is the context that they are thrown into Health Inspector. Larry The Cable Guy, a guy who is stuck in the ‘80s living in the 21st century is funny enough that it didn’t need to be complicated by a terrible premise of working for the health department. What might have been funnier is Larry The Cable Guy waking up one day and realizing he is no longer living in the ‘80s and discovering the internet, mobile phones, DVDs, and more.
THE EXTRAS:
“Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector – Behind the Badge” featurette.
+ Charlie Craine
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