Vince Vaughn’s career has followed a rather dynamic path; weaving through roles that go against his prescribed position a Hollywood’s leading funny man. To his credit, Vaughn has sought to take risks since his 1996 breakthrough Swingers, even going so far as to don the Bates family wig in Gus Van Sant’s much-maligned remake of Psycho.

Now, in the role of producer, he has adopted a similar approach in his latest project, Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show. In this documentary-style film, Vaughn takes his chances on four relatively unknown comics as they embark on a whirlwind bus tour from Hollywood to Chicago.

Vaughn ultimately roles the dice with comedians Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, Bret Ernst, and Sebastian Maniscalco; however, he does bring backup in the form of multiple guests including his pal John Favreau and old friend/co-producer Peter Billingsley (yes, Ralphie from A Christmas Story).

Considering the pathetic state of stand-up today, it was surprising to find that two of the comics (Maniscalco and Ernst) are quite good. Maniscalco is by far the most consistent of the lot, offering some hilarious takes on modern masculinity and the club scene. But the entire show is nearly derailed by the next generation redneck comedian Caparulo, who thinks that a Subway worker hanging a testicle in someone’s footlong is funny. Wait a second. Is it? Well, not the way he does it. Anyway, Wild West hits more times than it misses, but what impresses the audience is that the film has more to offer than laughs.

Vaughn and director Ari Sandel complement the stand-up routines well by taking the time to investigate the real lives of these struggling comedians. Although some of the one-on-one segments come across as artificial, there are some interviews that hit home with a refreshing breath of sincerity. Managing to touch on social issues such as AIDS and Hurricane Katrina (which happened to hit a tour stop), Wild West becomes more than what is advertised. Despite being more in tune with an HBO special rather than a theatrical release, Vaughn’s new endeavor provides some good laughs and a measure of emotional involvement.

Adam Neal is the founder of www.featurefilmreview.com. Adam sends this shout-out: “R.I.P. Roy Scheider. Because of you, we will always have The French Connection and Jaws. We hope that you finally found your ‘bigger boat.’”