Pauly Shore Stands Alone (2014)

Starring: Pauly Shore
Grade: A

The radio interview says it all:

“Just because Hollywood stopped giving me movies, doesn’t mean I haven’t stopped being Pauly”.

Summary

To open the documentary, we are reminded of Pauly Shore in his prime, showing an excerpt from his 1993 HBO stand-up special, Pauly Does Dallas. The crowd is cheering like crazy, he’s fully entrenched in his “Weasel” persona, and he’s as popular as he’s ever been. Essentially, he’s a rockstar without the music.

It’s now 24 years later, and the once highly-touted star is currently in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He’s on the road to his next paid stand-up gig, and he calls the promoter who booked him to tell him he’s an hour out. They talk about how excited everyone is for Shore to be in town and how the promoter hyped the event by having a movie marathon centered around him. Shore asks if they played his recent mockumentary Adopted, but the guy admits he couldn’t find it and how it may have gone straight to video (it did). After this, Shore cuts the conversation short to continue his drive.

We go back to one week earlier in Hollywood, California. From his office at The Comedy Store, he does a press interview for his new stand-up tour that begins in a basement of a strip club in Milwaukee. He continues, saying that though he likes performing at regular clubs and improv places like other comics, he also likes to try places and towns that comics have never gone before. He wants to go, as he puts it, to the “markets that love Son in Law“. He’s done stand-up his entire life, being four years old when his mother Mitzi created the famous Comedy Store. He grew up there. Along with his father already being a comedian and Mitzi being a major influence on almost every major comedian that became famous during his lifespan, Pauly was destined to be a comedic star because of his upbringing.

Shore then tells the viewer that he’s had his house in Hollywood Hills for 15 years, but he’s leased it out, living out of his suitcase for four years. He heads over to his house and after talking to his current tenant to see how things are going, he goes in-depth about his mom and how she’s essentially the mother to all of these famous comedians because of how instrumental she was in developing all of their acts. Following this, he heads over to Mitzi Shore’s house in West Hollywood. After greeting his old dog, Shore lets us know how he’s been back at his mother’s place for a couple of months. Next, he goes on about the history of his early childhood and how all the comedians would come and party there after nights at the Comedy Store. Sadly, they are in the process of selling this legendary home because of his mother’s deteriorating health.

With all of this in the back of his mind, he heads out to begin his tour of the smaller areas of Wisconsin and Minnesota, beginning it all in Milwaukee. Along the way, he meets fans, promoters, and everyone else in-between, all the while thinking and dealing with the harsh realities of his life.

My Thoughts

When speaking of Pauly Shore-related movies, this is arguably among his best. Oddly enough, it’s one of the very few that isn’t centered around the persona that got him famous. Sure, it’s an ode to it and the reason he’s able to have this stand-up tour, but this is much more a Pauly Shore movie rather than a “Weasel” picture. Now if you follow this site, you are very aware of my fandom for Pauly Shore. Yes, I do find him funny, and I do enjoy his films. For some reason, every time I write a review on a production related to the 90s comedian, I feel the need to defend him. In Pauly Shore Stands Alone, we get an introspective look on Shore’s real life on the road as a stand-up performer, now middle-aged and far removed from his years on MTV and starring in major Hollywood features.

To make a great documentary, as well as a road film all about reflection, we are attracted to honesty. This is what this film is all about. It’s an honest and revealing look about the comedian and the life behind the famous persona he cultivated in year’s past and how his life has turned out since. As life starts to creep up on him, acknowledging how his mother’s struggle with Parkinson’s is only worsening and him having trouble talking about it, and the relationship with the rest of his family being ways away from being as close as they previously were, we see Shore at his most vulnerable. It’s weird seeing such a jovial personality explaining the seriousness of his life and how it has affected him. He tries to keep in touch with his parents, but he admits it’s gotten harder saying, “I stopped calling my mom from the road a while ago because it got too like, sad to like, have her not respond back to me”. The man is speaking from the heart and for those that may have family members in the same situation, seeing a celebrity dealing with these real-world problems can make you a feel a real connection to him. He’s a much deeper guy than people give him credit for. He just doesn’t show it often.

Many times throughout this documentary, he teeters with the idea of having a wife and kids, something he missed out on when he was younger, and how there’s a void in his life from personal human connection. Early on, he talks about how much he craves the unconditional love he receives from his fans and how no matter what happens in his life, he feels better when he’s on stage and in front of a crowd. He loves doing comedy for his fans and receiving that love back. He missed out on this in his personal life, and you can see front and center how that has affected the star who is now in his mid-40s. He poses this possibility to start a family to a husband at some random hotel, and the guy plainly tells him he’s too old for it. Shore laughs it off at first, but you can see the reality start to set in once the moment passes. It’s like he never fully accepted his age and still feels like the kid he used to be, with the world ahead of him. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case anymore, and seeing him come to the realization that he missed the boat was an unforgettable moment.

Even so, we still see a lot of the lovable goofball that was so famous at one point. He may not be as outlandish as the “Weasel”, but you can see how close Shore’s actual personality, speech pattern, and general energy is felt in the character he used to portray. It’s not that far off. When he’s doing normal tasks like trying to park on the right side of the gas pump, or just finding his hotel room and taking a moment to figure out what part of the hallway he needs to go down to find it, it seems like he’s legitimately off a step. Years of partying all over the country will do that to you. Also, he’s genuinely funny, especially when he’s not trying. There are so many moments and off-the-cuff lines that show how funny Shore, and his real life, can be at times. I’d even argue that this Shore is a lot funnier than his written down material and stand-up. After randomly stopping at a place to go to the bathroom, some guy who recognizes him asks how he managed to find himself in such a small town and Shore responds simply with, “Karma bro”. How can you not laugh at that? What about when he points out the ironic lighting issues at the Edison Club? These highly entertaining moments that come naturally throughout becomes a nice reminder of our main subject when compared to all the serious stuff we are exposed to in the film.

Shore’s hunt for pussy in the middle of the movie was the funniest of it all:

“It’s kinda like the Miami Heat. You know how they’re like breaking the record for as many wins? I’m breaking the record for not getting any vagina on this tour, out of all my tours…which is okay, but it’s starting to get not okay.”

When he gets the one girl’s number and during their phone call, she flat-out says she’s not going to have sex with him and he just lays his head in his hand in disappointment, I was cackling. Thankfully, Patience, the booker from Rochester who wanted him from the beginning, is able to save him.

That girl was starving.

Each town and club he performs in has its own identity, and watching Shore navigate through small Midwestern town to an even smaller Midwestern town was so interesting. From meeting the fan at the strip club who he had sex with back in the day and how he subsequently gets her a job at the club after she nonchalantly flashes him, you can tell you’re in for a wild ride. I also loved it when he talks to the club owner about how she’s feeling down and after she mentions her fiancé died, without missing a beat, Shore cuts her off, saying “Let’s not get into that”. Little stuff like that is hysterical to me. Shore has seen it all too. He grew up in Hollywood and was at the height of his fame in his early 20s. There’s nothing he hasn’t seen or done. You can tell this with how normal he acts in any given situation, no matter how ridiculous or awkward. Along with that, you have so many other places and people he meets and each one is more entertaining than the last, like the small hotel who has their adorable little daughter walk around with guests in the lobby (and is in such a small place that they lock the front door of the hotel at night) and Shore’s adventures with L.A. Nik, who he hopes will help get him laid. For some reason, these smaller places have much more of a feeling of “anything can happen” than the bigger cities, and the runtime is a breeze because of it. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind a nationwide tour with Shore in a limited series if it’s something similar to this. That’s how engrossing this simplistic adventure is.

*All things considered, it’s quite ironic how popular Shore is in the Midwest considering how “West Coast” his brand was.*

One big part of the film is Shore interacting with Courtney, a superfan of Shore’s who is clearly in love with him (she even has a “Pauly Wall” at her home that she insists is not a shrine), and even Shore is perplexed as to why she’s such a big fan. He takes her and her friend out for dinner just to genuinely ask her questions because he doesn’t get it. Receiving this type of admiration from a stranger is so foreign to him, and he doesn’t understand why or what he’s done to deserve it. It’s really admirable how innocent he is on the subject. It’s also very telling because of the questions he seems to come back to regarding love in his personal life. Regardless, as a fan, it was really cool to see the genuine love he has for his fans and how respectful he is to them, as well as how friendly he can be to random citizens. An underrated part of the movie is him interacting with these people outside of his shows, like stopping at a pharmacy. After these women recognize him and he greets them, he immediately asks for medicine for his enlarged prostate.

These comic interludes are funny every time.

This confusion on where his life and career are at comes up a lot too, as he consistently reminisces on those times where he was on top of the world in the 90s. He’s still well-known everywhere he goes in this film but seeing him coming to grips with the fact that his star is fading gives this quiet documentary a level of emotional depth you’d never think you’d find in a movie starring Pauly Shore. He asks aloud why he’s not playing in the same size theater Bill Burr is playing at in the same city as him, and he can’t understand it because at the height of his fame, he was much more well-known. He can’t come to grips with where he’s at, and it’s very wild to see a celebrity coming face to face with the harshness of stardom and how he’s on the downslide of it, at least to modern audiences. In those interviews early in the movie, he acts as if he’s doing this tour because he had the option to, talking about how he doesn’t mind playing in regular clubs and improv places, but he wants to go to the smaller towns and places for this tour. However, you can’t help but think otherwise when his real thoughts and feelings show through when he sees Bill Burr playing at a much bigger place. Things aren’t nearly as okay as he plays them off to the public, and it becomes a recurring theme throughout this documentary.

Though he’s still got the funny voice and delivery, there’s a level of sadness to Pauly Shore that is evident. Besides the documentary crew, he doesn’t have anyone to enjoy this ride with him, except us the viewer, the fan. He truly does stand alone, and he’s starting to feel it as his parents age.

By the way, that ending was as poignant as they come, showing us that despite all the fun being had, you eventually have to come back to reality. It’s a real wakeup call.

We’ve seen a decent amount of “on tour” documentaries, but there’s something so engaging and personal about this one that feels so much more organic. I couldn’t help but enjoy every bit of it. Pauly Shore Stands Alone is a highly underrated documentary of the overly-criticized comedian, and I wouldn’t be surprised if after watching it, you non-fans will have a newfound respect for him. It’s that well done. Don’t waste time either. It’s on YouTube for free!

*I like that this is one of the very few Pauly Shore films that I can recommend to the masses without explaining his humor beforehand.*