Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector

No matter how sophisticated we may think of ourselves there is a little seven year old deep inside. This inner child still finds it funny to hear jokes about various bodily functions; any fluid or gas that may emanate from the human body is a laugh riot. Usually, we grow up and that inner child is kept deep inside where he belongs. Some films try to revive the child and manage to do so with wit that holds together. ‘Stripes’ was such a film, unfortunately, ‘Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector’ is not. Fans of the television series, Blue Collar Comedy (and I do include myself in this group) will immediate recognize Larry (Daniel Whitney). With his sleeve-less flannel shirt and well used baseball cap he along with Jeff Foxworthy and crew are funny with short skits and stand up. He is a good ensemble comedian but is not able to hold it together for a film of almost 90 minutes. Normally I would discuss the plot at this point in the review but here there is not so much a plot as a premise. What if the rude, crude and socially unacceptable cable guy had an actually job with the government no less. This is the first wrong turn. For a sophomoric comedy to work the audience has to be able to at least partially believe the set up. Here we sit in wonder as to why any local government would hire someone like Larry to inspect restaurants. Here is a man that would be far more at home with a beer and hot dog in a baseball park than even the most common fast food place. Giving Larry a badge and any modicum of authority is far beyond the pale of any reality.

The stage is set for what is to come with the first shot of the film, Larry’s butt crack. There should be a warning at this point that this is not the last time we will have to see butt cleavage on this man. Having failed every other possible means of employment Larry turns to his last resort, being a Florida public health inspector. He is partnered with his complete opposite, Amy Butlin (Iris Bahr), a by the book young woman with the tendency of wearing slightly masculine attire. When the best restaurants in town experience an out break of food poisoning the city has to turn to the investigative skills and Larry. While trying to solve the case of the spoiled food Larry is also after the romantic attentions of the fair maiden, Jane Whitley (Megyn Price). Now why she wouldn’t immediately fall for a catch like Larry is beyond me. He has it all, low slung paints that show off his crack, a beer belly and a wardrobe completely devoid of sleeves. Among the people that Larry runs across in his quest are the city’s mayor, Mayor M.T. Gunn (Joe Pantoliano) and a wealthy restaurant owner Lily Micelli (Joanna Cassidy) a woman as devoid of morals as the mayor.

I’ve been a fan of politically incorrect humor for as long as I can remember but the jokes here push it too far. It is not so much that the individual jokes are offensive; there is nothing at all wrong with that. It is more that the same joke is repeated with only minimum variation over and over again. We can all laugh a fart joke but fifty or more within a 90 minute period is just too much to take. There are enough scatological references here to provide a compost heap to every citizen in the nation. The running gag concerns some lower intestinal problems afflicting Larry that constantly sends him to the toilet and creates enough gas to fly the Goodyear blimp. In the course of the flick Larry and his partner visit just about every ethnic restaurant imaginable. While Larry is generally tolerant of different forms of cuisine he tends to lump them all together as ‘immigrant food’. He is also homophobic in many scenes but never too overtly. The problem is Larry has to remain a likeable guy instead of being a bigot that we can laugh at. Archie Bunker would have been a better choice here; at least he was honest about his prejudices.

Daniel Whitney in his on screen persona of Larry the Cable Guy is a funny man. As mentioned before he can entertain with his low brow stand up act and is excellent with the other blue collar comedians. Here he falls into the same pit as so many comedians that started on Saturday Night Live. What works for a short bit just doesn’t translate to a feature length comedy. It takes a rare talent to make a skit character work for a whole film. So far practically the only one I can think of succeeding is Mike Myers his Wayne’s World character. Larry just doesn’t have the versatility to carry a film. His trademark phrase is ‘Git r done’ but here not so much. I was surprised to see Megyn Price in the film. I have enjoyed her immensely in her television series ‘Grounded for Life’. She has a natural sense of comic timing that is not afford much to do here. Joe Pantoliano is also misused here. He is an incredible and talented character actor that is at home with drama and comedy. Here he is, for lack of a better term, slumming.

I have to give credit to Paramount Home Entertainment for the DVD release of this flick. They give their all even to a film that was not a blockbuster hit. The video is presented in a pan and scan version as well as a 1.85:1 anamorphic transfer. The color palette is well done. The details allow you to see just about every hair on Larry’s arms, not that you really want to see it. The Dolby 5.1 audio works well. The ambience is excellent and realistic with little use of the sub woofer. There is an extra provided, Behind the Badge, that goes into the making of the film. The only question they don’t answer is why.

Posted 8/2/06