Pauly Shore Stands Alone

I will admit up front that I am not a big Pauly Shore fan, though I did enjoy Son In Law, which I caught a few times years ago on cable.

This is my second almost viewing of Pauly Shore Stands Alone, which is a documentary he made about a concert tour he did in late 2013, working small venues in towns and small cities in Wisconsin and Minneapolis.

What I found most appealing about this is his direct connection with some of his fan base, down to earth working class people, who were either once big fans from the early 90s when he had a successful movie career or loyal fans throughout his entire journey. Gone of course is the young, hip whiny kid...now he's an older, wiser, prostate challenged middle aged stand up comedian.

He's on the downside of his career. Notice the contrast of him and the few other, much younger up and coming comedians. The big pay days of mega million dollar A movies, large concert halls and insanely hot women looking to bed him are all behind him. What he has now and before him is caring for an elderly, ill mother, trying to keep The Comedy Store nightclub, his parents legacy open and I assume debts from his once freewheeling lifestyle.

But now he's a much better human being. He talks to everyone. Local hairdressers, people who work in diners, hotel and motel staff, the people who run and work behind the scenes at the small clubs he does his stand up in. And he knows the business...the counting seats at the small clubs he performs in before each show is just one small lesson learned from his parents. And the way he connects with his fans after shows, posing for pictures and autographs, these are things most fans of anyone would never anticipate and once given will never forget.

He walks a tough and at times lonely road. It's not filled with the best of food or accommodations or balmy locales. But the people he stops to connect with are warm, more than happy to see him and leave smiling.

What a nice, in depth (but not overly so) capture of an odd upbringing. Great job on giving us enough of the story but only dragging us down just enough to feel it but I didn't cry... so that's good. Pauly is such an Oddball and after watching this I can understand why. Could have used a little more comedy but the telling is good. Thanks for sharing Pauly!!

This documentary was an interesting look at life on the road for Pauly Shore, who brought a camera crew with him to document a week long winter comedy tour through Wisconsin and Minnesota. There appears to be very little effort to glamorize his current existence as we see him staying in some pretty budget looking hotels, failing to sleep with female fans, counting seats in venues to make sure he is paid appropriately and peeing into a plastic water bottle before a show since there was not a performer's bathroom backstage. Speaking of peeing, besides the bottle incident, there were probably about 10 other separate scenes of Pauly peeing due to his self professed enlarged prostate. I have no idea why he decided to include so much footage of his back to a urinal, but there it is.

I went into this movie expecting to hate this guy, since my impression of him was based on his persona from 20 years ago when he was doing his weasel shtick from the MTV Spring Break Beach House. However, as I watched the movie, I felt like he came off as a really nice, normal guy who was struggling like anyone else with his career, relationships and family and doing the best he can with everything.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie and hope it finds an audience beyond already existing Pauly Shore fans and people with urine fetishes.

This movie is fantastic!

It doesn't matter if you grew up with "The Weaz," hate him, love him, or are unfamiliar with him, this story is an entertaining and touching show-biz tale. It's, essentially, a road doc about a middle-aged, struggling comedian, who is over-shadowed by the fame of his past, and equally haunted by the situation of his present.

Pauly Shore, son of comedy icons, Sammy and Mitzi Shore, is the lone sibling left in LA, to care for his ailing mother (Parkinsons,) and to tend to his parent's legacy (the Comedy Store on Sunset Blvd.)

Pauly, who rose to prominence in the early 90's as an MTV personality (and eventual movie star,) is now a road comic, who tours rigorously, but remains as the heart of "The Store."

The heart of this film, is Pauly… His devotion to the art of stand-up, to "The Comedy Store," to his mother, and to all the fans that are still with him.

The meat of this movie is a hilarious road doc, with crazy fans, indignant club owners, enlarged prostates, and a lot of great jokes. We may only get a glimpse into Pauly's personal and family life, but it's enough to make him incredibly endearing to us, and we get a LARGE dose of his life on the road. And it's an interesting tour, to say the least...

This film is nominated for an ACE Eddie award, and it's awesome! So, if you are a fan of compelling non-fiction content, check this doc out!