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Born: September 22, 1975 (1975-09-22), East Liverpool, Ohio
Medium: Stand-up, Television
Nationality: American
Years active: 1997 – present
Genres: Observational
Subjects: Rednecks, Culture of the Southern United States, Everyday life
Influences:Richard Pryor, The Simpsons
Notable works and roles: The Tonight Show, Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Tour, Chelsea Lately, Mobile Home Disaster
John Caparulo (born September 22, 1975 in East Liverpool, Ohio) is an American stand-up comedian. He is probably best known for his appearances on the late night E! talk show Chelsea Lately.
Biography
Early life
Growing up in a section of Ohio, near Pennsylvania and West Virginia, except for seven years his family lived in North Canton, Caparulo attended East Liverpool High School, graduating in 1993, identified himself as a "Cleveland boy" because he was a Cleveland Browns and Indians fan and attended Kent State University and he "didn't want to identify with Pittsburgh."[1] After graduating from Kent State, where he was a member of Phi Sigma Pi, he started his stand-up career in night clubs in Cleveland, Ohio and Pittsburgh in 1997. He then spent several years working as a doorman at the Comedy Store in Hollywood, California and as a groundskeeper at a local golf course.
Rise in popularity
It wasn't until 2003 that he got his first break appearing at the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal,[2] where he was offered a sitcom, and on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.[3] He applied his blue collar work ethic to the stage, which he now does full-time. He has appeared on The Tonight Show,[4] a half-hour special on Comedy Central, was featured on Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Next Generation along with Reno Collier, Juston McKinney and Jamie Kaler hosted by Bill Engvall,[5] and is one of the comedians on the Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Tour.[6][7] He also hosts Mobile Home Disaster on CMT. He regularly appears on the E! show Chelsea Lately. He now has a comedy special that aired on Comedy Central on December 21, 2008 called John Caparulo: Meet Cap. The special was released on CD on February 10, 2009.[8] It is scheduled to be released on DVD on April 14, 2009.[9]
Personal life
Caparulo says his inspirations are Michael Jordan and Jesus. Regarding them (his inspirations) he was quoted as saying "He (Jordan) was the greatest ever at what he did, and he set out to prove that on a nightly basis. Oh, and Jesus too. Probably 60/40 Jordan though."[6] Some of his admitted "guilty pleasures" are Dr. Phil, The Karate Kid and restroom graffiti.[6]
Discography
2009: John Caparulo: Meet Cap
Record label: Warner Bros.
Records Nashville[8]
Released: February 10, 2009[8]
Television apperances
2003 - 2004: The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, CBS "James Marsden, Alex Kingston, and John Caparulo" (Episode 967), May 7, 2003[10],
"Eric Idle, Lauren Holly, and John Caparulo" (Episode 1,170)
2004 ESPN25: Who's #1? ESPN "Most Outrageous Characters"
2005 Premium Blend Comedy Central "Alex Ortiz, Ophira Eisenberg, Matt Iseman and John Caparulo" (Episode 802)
2005 - 2008 The Tonight Show NBC "Avril Lavigne, Pamela Anderson, Selma Blair and John Caparulo", (Episode 2,988)
"Jennifer Aniston, John Caparulo, The All-American Rejects", (Episode 3,116)
2006 Comedy Central Presents: John Caparulo Comedy Central Episode #171, April 7, 2006 Performer
2008 - present Mobile Home Disaster CMT All episodes Host
2008 - present Chelsea Lately E! December 5, 2008,
2008 John Caparulo: Meet Cap Comedy Central December 21, 2008 Performer
Filmography
2006: Vince Vaugn's Wild West Comedy Tour: bruary 8, 2008: Perrformer, First shown at 2006 Toronto International Film Festival.
2007: Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Next Generation[5], November 17, 2007, Performer, Live performance for TV, never aired.
John began his stand-up career in Northeast Ohio in 1997. His sharp wit and unique delivery made him a crowd favorite right off the bat.
After graduating from Kent State University, he left behind a lucrative career patching potholes to take his talent to the West coast. There he spent the next four years working the door at the world famous Comedy Store and cutting grass at a local golf course.
Cap's first big break came at the 2003 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, where he impressed the industry observers enough to offer him a sitcom deal. It was then he was able to trade in his weed whacker for a microphone full-time. He then applied his blue-collar work ethic to the stage, where he now performs nearly 365 nights a year.
He has made three appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, has his own half-hour Comedy Central Presents and is now a part of Blue Collar Comedy: The Next Generation. The 1-hour special recently aired on TBS. John's first film, Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show, was released by New Line Cinema earlier this year. The comedy documentary follows Vince and 4 stand-up comics as they tour around the country. John is the host of the CMT series Mobile Home Disaster and is a regular on E!'s hit show Chelsea Lately.
In May of 2008, this up-and-coming comedian recorded his first one-hour DVD called "Meet Cap," which was released in April, 2009.
Yes, John Caparulo is living proof that you really can do something with your life even if you don't wake up before noon!
"Whoever invented automated customer service. I wanna kick him in the balls. Oh, and I'd like to meet Michael Jordan someday."
John Caparulo was born and raised in East Liverpool, Ohio (with a 7-year stint in North Canton), and began his stand-up career in 1997. His sharp wit, unique delivery, and affinity for cuss words made him a crowd favorite right off the bat. After graduating from Kent State University, he left behind a lucrative career patching potholes to take his talent to the left coast. There he spent the next four years working the door at the world famous Comedy Store and cutting grass at a local golf course.
Cap’s first big break came at the 2003 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, where he impressed the industry observers enough to offer him a sitcom deal. It was then he was able to trade in his weed-whacker for a microphone full-time. He then applied his blue collar work ethic to the stage, where he now performs nearly 365 nights a year. In recent years, Cap’s simple approach to life and comedy has landed him 3 appearances on The Tonight Show, a half-hour special on Comedy Central, and a spot on the Next Generation of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour (DVD in stores NOW!!).
In 2008, Cap was featured as one of the four comedians on Vince Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show, which hit theaters in February and is now available on DVD. He also recently finished hosting the first season of MOBILE HOME DISASTER on CMT. In May of 2008, this up-and-coming stand-up recorded his first one-hour DVD called "Meet Cap," which will be distributed by Warner Bros. and will be available very soon! Yes, John Caparulo is living proof that you really can do something with your life even if you don’t wake up before noon!!
Apr 2 2009 9:00P
The Comedy Store West Hollywood CA
Apr 3 2009 9:00P
The Comedy Store West Hollywood CA
Apr 4 2009 10:30P
The Comedy Store West Hollywood CA
Apr 7 2009 10:00P
Chelsea Lately Hollywood CA
Apr 11 2009 7:00P
John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino Resort Sparks NV
Apr 20 2009 10:00P
Chelsea Lately Hollywood CA
Apr 23 2009 7:00P
Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle Royal Oak MI
Apr 24 2009 7:00P
Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle Royal Oak MI
Apr 25 2009 7:00P
Mark Ridley’s Comedy Castle Royal Oak MI
May 7 2009 7:00P
Funny Bone Comedy Club St. Louis MO
May 8 2009 7:00P
Funny Bone Comedy Club St. Louis MO
May 9 2009 7:00P
Funny Bone Comedy Club St. Louis MO
May 10 2009 7:00P
Funny Bone Comedy Club St. Louis MO
May 28 2009 7:00P
The Punchline Sacramento CA
May 29 2009 7:00P
The Punchline Sacramento CA
May 30 2009 7:00P
The Punchline Sacramento CA
May 31 2009 7:00P
The Punchline Sacramento CA
Jun 11 2009 6:00P
Comedy Works Denver CO
Jun 12 2009 6:00P
Comedy Works Denver CO
Jun 13 2009 6:00P
Comedy Works Denver CO
Jun 14 2009 6:00P
Comedy Works Denver CO
Jul 15 2009 6:00P
Just For Laughs Festival Montreal
Jul 16 2009 6:00P
Just For Laughs Festival Montreal
Jul 17 2009 6:00P
Just For Laughs Festival Montreal
Jul 18 2009 6:00P
Just For Laughs Festival Montreal
Jul 31 2009 6:00P
South Point Hotel Las Vegas NV
Aug 1 2009 6:00P
South Point Hotel Las Vegas NV
Aug 21 2009 6:00P
Knitting Factory Boise ID
Aug 22 2009 6:00P
Knitting Factory Spokane WA
Oct 1 2009 6:00P
The Punchline Atlanta GA
Oct 2 2009 6:00P
The Punchline Atlanta GA
Oct 3 2009 6:00P
The Punchline Atlanta GA
Oct 4 2009 6:00P
The Punchline Atlanta GA
Nov 12 2009 6:00P
Goodnight’s Comedy Club Raleigh NC
Nov 13 2009 6:00P
Goodnight’s Comedy Club Raleigh NC
Nov 14 2009 6:00P
Goodnight’s Comedy Club Raleigh NC
Nov 15 2009 6:00P
Goodnight’s Comedy Club Raleigh NC
You’ve had a lot of recent success. How has it changed your career?
John Caparulo: Well, people know who you are and just kind of know what they’re getting when they come to see your show. It’s a lot different than
it was a year ago when I’d go do a club in, say Dallas or Missouri and people would go ‘who the hell is this guy cussing up a storm?’
It’s a little easier now because people know what they’re getting when they come to see me. It’s really cool to be able to do what I imagined doing when I was a kid. When I was 12 I imagined doing exactly what I’m doing now, and not many people get to say that.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a comedian?
John Caparulo: From a very young age, I never saw myself doing anything else besides stand-up. It’s just who I was. Being from a small town in
Ohio I was kind of shy and I always kind of thought to myself‚ ‘Well, I’m funny to my friends, but am I funny enough to go out in front of strangers
and do this?’
It took me a while to kind of gain that confidence. In college [Kent State] I majored in radio and TV production. I just picked a major on the list basically. I was just kind evading reality because I was kind of shy about actually venturing out and trying stand-up. College was a nice way to hide from what I really wanted to do. But college helped me grow a little bit. So then I was able to get out there and do it. It was a necessary experience. I’m not happy about it now when I get those student loan bills, but it wasn’t a complete waste.
Like you, a lot of comics seem to be really shy. That always surprises people.
John Caparulo: Well, the ones that are actually good are shy. There are some guys who suffer from an over abundance of personality and they’re
not just like that onstage. They’re just always on. It’s annoying.
Another commonality, it seems, among stand-up comics is that at some point in their life, they were outcasts. If you ever felt that way, what
was it that got you to that point?
John Caparulo: Now, I’m able to pinpoint exactly what made me want to do it. When I was in the sixth grade I was on my elementary basketball team.
I was at practice one night, and long story short, I shit my pants. The other guys on the team obviously noticed and it was just an awful experience.
I was 11 years-old at that time and it was embarrassing.
It’s a painful experience for someone at that age to go through. Then after a couple of years, I turned it into my advantage. I turned it into this story I would tell and people would ask me to tell it again. The story just got better and better every time I told it. I realized how fun it was to take something that is potentially painful or hurtful and turn that into laughter. So I started doing that with everything in my life. Things that would happen to me that were bad or painful I would channel them into comedy and make it funny.
I’ve noticed these days in comedy, a lot of comedians feel you have to be overly cerebral or abstract or else you’re selling out or just pandering
to your audience. Do you have any opinion on the topic?
John Caparulo: There are different kinds of comics. There are ones that go out and perform for the audience, and there are other comics who perform
for other comics. There are so many guys who kind of over think it and try to reinvent the wheel and try to do something so off the wall that nobody
gets it.
You have to understand the average person coming out to a comedy club is just coming out to laugh and have a good time. There are so many guys who go, ‘Oh God, so-and-so did a bit about that before.’ Oh God, he talked about flying in airplanes.’ The thing is, we all have the same experiences living day to day.
That’s what we do, we fly on airplanes, people get married, they have bad relationships. The only thing that sets one comic apart from the next is what his point of view is about that, and how he makes that funny. Why over think it? These are the things that people relate to because these are the things that everybody goes through.
Personally, the great thing about comedy is not only are you making people laugh but you’re making people relate and you’re making people understand. I mean if some guys want to be nerds and sit in the back of the room and criticize everybody else, then whatever. Why is it so complicated? It’s just comedy.
You’ve mentioned in the past that being a part of the Just For Laughs comedy festival was your big break. How exactly did the fest help?
John Caparulo: It enabled me to stop cutting grass for a living. It helped me to actually make my living as a comedian. And it lead to my first
of three development deals which got me experience with the networks, the studios, the writers– all that stuff you have to learn.
The thing is none of the three pilot scripts we came up with even got shot. The truth is I was probably too young and not seasoned enough yet to even have a sitcom on the air. It was probably a blessing in disguise that it didn’t come to fruition. Basically, I was being paid to learn and that all started with Montreal.
How did Vince Vaughn end up choosing you for the Wild West Comedy Show movie?
John Caparulo: Vince was always out at the comedy clubs. I would always see him at the Comedy Store or just shows around town. When he decided
to put this tour together obviously he wanted guys who were funny, but also guys who had different points of view. He also wanted guys who didn’t
necessarily just tell jokes, but based their comedy off of real experience.
Vince is a Midwestern guy; he grew up in Chicago and I’m from Ohio. He knew we’d be going through a lot of Midwestern cities so he wanted somebody who fit those sensibilities. Luckily I fit the bill.
Most comedians dream of playing characters in movies. But you played yourself. What was it like seeing yourself on the big screen knowing millions
of people were going to see you?
John Caparulo: It was horrifying; I couldn’t bear to watch myself. We had to screen the movie several times and I’d seen it enough to make me sick.
It was weird– not necessarily the stand-up portions, but the parts where I’m doing interviews and stuff like that. I’m talking to a friend of mine
who is the director of the movie, and I’m just telling him a story between two friends then when it turns up on the big screen it’s weird.
Stand-up is one thing, but seeing myself getting out of bed on the big screen is weird. It was a different experience. But it was also kind of cool because in this era of stand-up comedy how many guys get to go on the big screen and do stand-up in a feature film?
Stand-up comedy is obviously a tough business. If two comedians have somewhat equal talent why does one guy make it but not the other?
John Caparulo: I just think funny is funny and if you’re really good at this, it’s going to get recognized. It’s kind of like sports You just can’t
deny who’s really good at this.
The thing that sets one guy apart from the other is passion. You really have to love doing this. It’s not about results; it’s about doing it because it’s what you love to do.
How has it been since the tour? Has it helped your career?
JOHN CAPARULO: What we have right now is the experience. Taking that experience, that we went for 30 days on a bus, it does change your perception of reality. After going that long with a movie star, realizing how big things can get, it’s different than the usual nightly grind at the Chuckle Hut. That’s what I took from it ever since— I think I grew as a person and as a performer.
AHMED AHMED: I agree with John there is definitely a lot of growth that happened in those thirty days. The tour has manifested after the actual physical tour. It went into a pre-editing facility and was cut into a film, we took it to the Toronto Film Festival, and then it was sold and redistributed by another company—there is a whole after life that has been happening after those 30 days. It’s kind of like a two for one: we got the tour and then we got the movie but we weren’t really expecting the movie. So it’s nice. That people can recognize you on a national level in movie theaters is rare. I think John has mentioned this in the past: it’s really rare for comedians to do their act on the big screen.
John Caparulo: It doesn’t happen anymore.
Ahmed Ahmed: You’ll see us on comedy central.
John Caparulo: Really the generation now of comedians is really the guys who grew up with the “comedy boom of the 80s.” Everywhere you turned when I was a kid there were comedians on television. Even Good Morning America had comedy. Before I went to school in 6th, 7th grade there were comedians on the morning show. So we all saw it as something that was actually a respectable career choice.
Ahmed Ahmed: You thought you could make a living.
John Caparulo: And then as far as the big screen there were the Eddie Murphy concert films and all the HBO specials and all those big things, they have kind of waned in the past 10, 15 years.
Ahmed Ahmed: The difference with our movie and our tour –not to take anything away from any other comedy specials that were filmed as movies–but you are on the bus and on the road with us so you get to see that part of the tour. And then we also have a movie star with us so instead of seeing a comedy special where it’s one guy on stage it’s Vince Vaughn with four unknown comedians and special guests–it’s really more of a moving, variety, rat pack kind of show.
There were definitely a lot of layers. What was it like to be filmed alls the time?
Ahmed Ahmed: There was a lot of looking away and shooting. More fly on the wall kind of stuff.
John Caparulo: They were just other guys that were there who happened to have a camera attached to their hip. That’s really what it was. As far as the movie was concerned, we really didn’t know what it was going to be.
Ahmed Ahmed: Vince never told us it was going to be a movie. He said, “Just shoot everything.”
John Caparulo: I remember thinking it was at best going to be a DVD. It would come out in stores. I heard it would come out right around the time one of his movies came out. They would put the DVD out and maybe people will see it. I never thought that it was actually going to be a feature film. We were really, every night, just so focused on the shows—that’s all I ever worried about. When the camera guy would come and interview me it was like, “Dude, seriously, I’m trying to get in my zone.” It wasn’t really the first thing on your mind.
Ahmed Ahmed: The shows were a microcosm of what was going on in that night, in that moment, in that city, in that venue. The only thing we were
thinking about for the next night is that we have a job for the next night. That was our focus. We would wake up in the morning and go take a shower,
go get some food, some of us would go to the gym, some of us would take cameras and go shoot around, but the focus was the 20 minutes and that
was it. I say that sincerely. It wasn’t hey, “We’re going to be f**king movie stars.” We had no idea and didn’t really care. I think that was one
of the beautiful parts of the movie because you see that, you don’t see people in the movie saying, “Hey look at me, we are going to be somebody
one day.” We weren’t thinking about the results or the outcome. I always look at comedy like the glassblower—you know you will see him at the state
fair or whatever. When he first starts out there are 2 or 3 people
watching and by the time he is done 30 minutes have gone by and he’s got this nice vase that he just blew and he looks up and he’s sweating profusely
and there are 50 people clapping. That’s what comics are like. We are sweating with our heads down caught up in whatever we are doing and then when we
are done we look up and people are clapping. That’s how I relate it: we are not really looking for the payoff we are more in the moment. That’s it; let’s
focus on each show and let’s be funny tonight.
John Caparulo: I remember thinking while we were on the tour, “We just do the same boring shit every day. Do these people even have anything to make a movie with this?” We don’t do anything. Then I remember they told me the first cut of the movie was four hours long. I just didn’t think that we did enough or anything like that to make it long enough. We just didn’t focus on it.
That’s interesting to hear. Because you didn’t focus on it and weren’t really paying attention was there anything surprising to see about the process or what you were going through?
Ahmed Ahmed: We knew what they were filming, so we all had trust in the producers and editors that they would cut the movie together in a classy way–in a way that showed integrity and had a lot of heart and soul. One of the great things about Vince that I think he prides himself on is about putting products out there that don’t rise to the occasion or rise above what he expects. He would never put his name on something and put out a product that made himself look bad or the people around him look bad. And if anything in the movie does come across as bad it is only because it was coming from an honest place. When Caparulo comes off stage and hears someone say, “f**k you” that’s just a misunderstanding; that’s not malicious.
I would think something like that could be really powerful; for you to look back and say, “Wow, I didn’t realize that happened.”
John Caparulo: Yeah. You look back at it and go, “Oh God, those are those moments that are my private thing.” I was thinking about it when I was
watching one of the screenings last week and they are asking me about the stuff I was talking about–meeting women and stuff like that. You know
that conversation I’m having is with the camera guy and it’s just me and him talking. And then when you see it on the screen you’re like, “Oh shit.”
It can be uncomfortable. I think as comics we all have trouble watching ourselves anyway. I’m completely repulsed anytime that I watch myself which
I think might be a bit extreme to feel that way but I think it is better than the opposite extreme where if I really enjoyed watching myself, how
creepy would that be? “I’ve got my own DVD and this guy is f**king great!” There are those moments in there that were intimate at the time and
you are just living your day to day life. Now it’s up on a big
screen and it is a little bit jarring at times, yeah.
What was it like to have to do a show a night?
John Caparulo: We do our normal thing in Hollywood and we all go on at the Comedy Store every night and if you had a night that you didn’t like that much it’s different than on this tour because you knew that tomorrow night there are another 2,000 people waiting in the next city. It’s “Man, there was a really good crowd tonight and I blew it” versus “We are going to have a good crowd every night because we are traveling with the guy from Wedding Crashers.” It’s a different feeling than the normal night to night thing. Plus, in some ways it’s a little awkward: when I’m at home and finish doing my thing I go home versus here I go back to my little bunk on the submarine and close my curtain. It’s a little different to not have your own space and have to cope with that. But like I said it’s still cool. Every night you knew was going to be a huge event.
Ahmed Ahmed: For a comic that’s just a dream come true. Arrive in a new city, especially a city that’s not cosmopolitan—it’s not like we were in LA or New York or Vegas–we were going right through middle America where they don’t get big shows like that. It was nice to pull up and see the name on the marquee and the pictures and the sign that says it’s “Sold Out”. And knowing that there are going to be anywhere from 1,500 to 2,500 people sitting in seats waiting to laugh.
How did the crowds compare to LA or New York?
Ahmed Ahmed: Not to take anything away from LA or New York but those audiences can be uptight sometimes because they see it all the time. New
York is very saturated with comedy as is Los Angeles so when you have something at your fingertips all the time you kind of get spoiled and jaded.
But when you don’t have it people are really thirsty, they are hungry for comedy and you sense that. You sense it when we went through Oklahoma,
when we went through Birmingham, and Austin and Ohio–not Austin–but some of these other places it was a night out for them. It was an event. They
had their dates or it was girls’ night out or guys’ night out, they had their drink and their popcorn in hand or whatever it was and got their
early and did their research. It wasn’t like they were just going to the movies. And the venues we played were really cool—the Paramount, the Rheinhart
theater—and most comedians don’t get to play in places like that so that
was a real privilege to play where major entertainers had played—Elvis Presley, Patsy Kline, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens. We played the Agora Theater in
Ohio where the Beatles had played.
John Caparulo: They hadn’t cleaned the place since the Beatles had played. Yeah, the cool thing was everywhere we went everybody got it. Getting the laugh is one thing but it is that experience of relating. People understand the frustration that goes into creating these things. The fun thing is that we went to all these different cities that supposedly have different types of people with different accents and at the end of the day we all really share the same experiences every day and we all get pissed about the same shit. That was really cool to find out that you know what, it translates everywhere.
When you came back to the smaller venues in LA did you have to adjust your performance level?
Ahmed Ahmed: Yeah. Peter talks about it in the movie how we all have postpartum depression because we started out playing the comedy clubs where it is maximum 300 people and you are lucky if you get a gig doing a 1,000 seater at a performing arts theater—but mostly it’s clubs. So to go from that to elevate your presence and either talk louder or be bigger on stage it’s more theatrical almost and you have to adjust. Then we finished the tour and we come back to the clubs and there will be 50 people in the audience and it’s like, “HEY! HOW ARE YOU!” And it’s like, “Slow down, we don’t need all that energy.” We had to adjust and come down to ground level.
What wisdom would you offer young comics who want to make a go of it?
John Caparulo: You have to love making people laugh. That’s what it is. You can’t go into it looking to get something back from it besides just making people laugh. The reward is the act itself—that’s the only reward. If you are going into it for fame or money or girls you are going to be really sad. You have to do it because that’s what you want to do.
Ahmed Ahmed: There is an old saying that they use in the Middle East that if you really care about something you throw it into the ocean and it belongs to the ocean. Audiences for me are like that. When I do a show, when I throw my act out into the audience, it’s their’s now, they own it, they have it, they keep it and go back to their house and repeat it to their friends or at the office at the water cooler. In conjunction with what John said, you have to really enjoy the act of stand up comedy and the art of stand up comedy if for any other reason it’s a really sad, long, journey.
John Caparulo: And you can’t learn to be funny.
Ahmed Ahmed: Funny is funny.
John Caparulo: It has to be who you are. The journey of every stand up is how to become yourself in front of a group of strangers every night in a short amount of time.
Ahmed Ahmed: And have a point of you view. You can’t learn to be funny. You can learn to have a voice. There is a craft behind the art. Some people are not born painters but they have the innate ability to want to paint. If you have that innate ability to be funny along the journey you learn certain tricks to the trade; certain words you use or inflections you use or facial expressions that you craft but John’s right, there’s no school. You come out of the womb and you are either funny or your not.
John Caparulo: When I came out of the womb, it was hilarious. I was killing it at the hospital.
Wikipedia References
1. Carr, Kevin. "A Conversation with John Caparulo from "Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show"". 7mPictures.com. http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/johncaparulo_feature.htm.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
2. "John Caparulo Comedy Video - Just For Laughs 2006". YouTube.com. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-8f_kqmwmU. Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
3. "The Late Late Show with Crain Kilborn James Marsden, Alex Kingston, and John Caparulo". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/the-late-late-show-with-craig-kilborn/james-marsden-alex-kingston-and-john-caparulo/episode/1227951/summary.html.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
4. "The Tonight Show: John Caparulo". Hulu.com. http://www.hulu.com/watch/9816/john-caparulo. Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
5. a b "Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Next Generation (2007)". Netflix. http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Blue_Collar_Comedy_Tour_The_Next_Generation/70097711.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
6. a b c Staff, Variety (February 1, 2008). "John Caparulo (Stars in Vince Vaughn's 'Wild West Comedy Show')". Variety.com. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117979963.html?categoryid=2031&cs=1.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
7. "John Caparulo Clip". Metacafe.com. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1046083/john_caparulo_clip/. Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
8. a b c "Meet Cap (CD) By: John Caparulo (Artist)". Tower.com. http://www.tower.com/meet-cap-john-caparulo-cd/wapi/113109204. Retrieved on
March 17, 2009.
9. "DVD: John Caparulo: Meet Cap (Full Frame)". Wal-mart.com. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10973697. Retrieved on March
17, 2009.
10. "The Late Late Show with Crain Kilborn James Marsden, Alex Kingston, and John Caparulo". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/the-late-late-show-with-craig-kilborn/james-marsden-alex-kingston-and-john-caparulo/episode/1227951/summary.html.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
11. "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn Himself Eric Idle, Lauren Holly, and John Caparulo". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/the-late-late-show-with-craig-kilborn/james-marsden-alex-kingston-and-john-caparulo/episode/1227951/summary.html.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
12. "ESPN25: Who's #1?: Most Outrageous Characters". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/espn25-whos-1/most-outrageous-characters/episode/407677/summary.html.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
13. "Premium Blend: Episode 802". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/premium-blend/episode-802/episode/394216/summary.html. Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
14. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Show #2988". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/the-tonight-show-with-jay-leno/show-2988/episode/463822/summary.html.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
15. "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Guest Jennifer Aniston; John Caparulo; The All-American Rejects". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/the-tonight-show-with-jay-leno/jennifer-aniston-john-caparulo-the-all-american-rejects/episode/694009/summary.html.
Retrieved on March 17, 2009.
Actor Vince Vaughn proves a generous and expansive host in Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland. Organizing a monthlong bus tour of concert halls in 30 American cities, Vaughn packs his bags and lives aboard the four-wheeler with a quartet of relatively unknown comedians. Hitting a different town every day, the group simply does everything it can do to entertain people while Vaughn supplements all the comic monologues with sketches performed alongside some of his famous showbiz friends.
The guest comics--Ahmed Ahmed, Bret Ernst, John Caparulo, and Sebastian Maniscalco--vary in concentration and quality, but you can see them growing as performers all the time. This full-length documentary spends a lot of time with each of them, even getting to know their parents and their hopes and dreams. Meanwhile, Vaughn is just having fun with the likes of old buddy Jon Favreau, up-and-coming star Justin Long (the young Mac dude in those commercials for Apple), and longtime friend Peter Billingsley (the child who got hit in the eye in A Christmas Story), executive producer of this film. Billingsley gamely recreates a scene he and Vaughn played together as teens in an after-school television special about steroid use--a definite highlight for Wild West Comedy Show.
The film drags a bit during the biographical material, but there are many interesting and even upbeat moments, such as the tour group turning up in the wake of Katrina’s devastation in New Orleans and helping to keep spirits up.
Wild West Comedy Show: 30 Days & 30 Nights - Hollywood to the Heartland is a comedy documentary film directed by Ari Sandel and follows the 30 day comedy of tour of several stand up comedians. It premiered September 8, 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opened in limited release in the United States on February 8, 2008.
Synopsis
The documentary follows the month-long live comedy variety tour of Vince Vaughn and four stand-up comedians in the spirit of Wild West Shows. Vaughn picked four comedians from The Comedy Store in Los Angeles (Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, Bret Ernst and Sebastian Maniscalco) for the tour. The tour began September 12, 2005 in Hollywood at the Music Box Theater and spanned 30 shows over 30 consecutive nights in 30 cities across the United States. Vince Vaughn acts as emcee and performs improv sketches with surprise guests. The comedians traveled over 6,000 miles on their tour and included stops in the Western, Southern, and Midwestern states. The film highlights their performances on-stage and contains interviews with the various comedians.
Cast
Ahmed Ahmed
Peter Billingsley
John Caparulo
Bret Ernst
Justin Long
Sebastian Maniscalco
Keir O'Donnell
Vince Vaughn
Production
Vince Vaughn was a producer for the film. Vaughn's older sister Victoria was also a producer. Chris Henkel, Paul Ruffolo, Dave Rutherford, and Jani Zandovskis served as camera operators. The show director was Chad Horning. The stage manager was Jason Ruffolo.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 56% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 75 reviews, with the consensus that the film "has some entertaining moments, but is a mostly hit-and-miss documentary." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 51 out of 100, based on 24 reviews.
Peter Hartlaub of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "It's a funny comedy, and sometimes an even better drama" and called it a "nice companion piece" to the 2002 film Comedian. Hartlaub said "The comics all have their good and bad moments, but John Caparulo is arguably the most hilarious both on- and offstage" and "the movie is best when Vaughn plays off his own pop culture stature." Hartlaub also wrote that "director Ari Sandel paces the film well."
Stephen Holden of The New York Times described the film as "more of a backstage documentary" than a concert film. Holden wrote the film "includes some moderately funny snippets of actual performances" but "we never see a complete performance or even a quarter of one." Holden called it "among the tamest tours ever filmed." Holden wrote that the tour was re-routed because it came after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Holden wrote "In the most revealing scene Mr. Vaughn and his crew visit an Alabama trailer camp to give free tickets to the residents, many of them New Orleans evacuees who lost everything."
Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film one star out of four, writing "A 2 1/2-year-old collection of mediocre stand-up routines and dull backstage chatter, Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show demonstrates why comedy clubs require you to have a couple of drinks." Smith said "Only about 40 percent of the movie is even comedy; the rest consists of lots of shots of maps" and said the film was "worse than open-mike night."
Box office performance
The film opened in limited release in the United States on February 8, 2008 and grossed $464,170 in 962 theaters that weekend, averaging $482 per theater. The film grossed a total of $603,894 after three weeks in theaters.
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