Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again

I found this sequel to "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" to be a good DVD and I still enjoy watching it. I think the original still has a certain edge on it partly because of its extras. The Waffle House scene, the Victoria's Secret stuff and the pimp suits. David Allan Grier was good too.

That said, If you liked the first one, ya gotta git this'un! I have found these guys are at their best when the four of them just get together and poke fun. That was the best part of the first one as well.

Do not let other people tell you what is or is not funny. I love to laugh at these guys and if the humor isn't always sophisticated (if it ever is) it is good. I laughed and that really was the whole idea. You may have to watch it a few times to get all of the jokes because you are often laughing so hard that you miss the intro to the next joke. To me, that is the mark of a funny show.

As my wife likes to say, watching this kind of comedy is my guilty pleasure.

My Brother-In-Law played the original "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" DVD for me a few months ago. I had never laughed that hard for that long. We purchased the show and have watched it numerous times since then, continuing to enjoy the humor. I had never heard of Ron White before, but he stole the show. When I saw that the "Rides Again" DVD would be available the beginning of December, we preordered it. We received it yesterday and watched it last night. Although the show has some great moments, it was a minor disappointment. Bill is a very funny guy but his stories seemed a little drawn out this time. Jeff has the ability to make almost anything funny, and although his bit was good, it wasn't anywhere near as funny as the first DVD. Larry (who has a great act) just didn't seem to be "on" with most of his jokes (timing was off or something). My biggest disappointment was with Ron. He just didn't seem to care and his jokes were very disjointed. This DVD is worth owning but don't expect it to hold up against the first one. If the first release is a "ten" (which it is), this one is a "five".

While "Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again" isn't as good as the first (few sequels are), it is a satisfying sequel with all the same great comedians. Bill Engvall, Ron "Tater Salad" White, Jeff Foxworthy, and Larry "The Cable Guy" return onstage to give some funny redneck laughs and humorous spins on everyday affairs.

This sequel does not contain some of the funny footage you get in the first (Larry's visit to Victoria's Secret and the fart machine purchase). If you haven't watched "Blue Collar Comedy Tour", you may want to rent that one before watching "Blue Collar Comedy Tour Rides Again". 7/10

I did miss the group gatherings that were throughout the first film, because it really allowed us to see where some of the jokes originated and how these friends interact, and honestly, I think it hurt this film. The friendships were there, it was obvious, but it just didn't come through the television as predominately as the first. Also, they were all trying new material this outing. You could tell, because the comfort level was a bit off. It was as if they were wondering to themselves if the joke would work, or if people were applauding because of who they were not what they were saying. Maybe this second film was rushed due to the overwhelming popularity of the original, but it wasn't the same.

One keen observation that can be made about this second film was the audience seemed to be whiter collar than redneck. Half the fun of the original was seeing the audience reacting and laughing at the people that just looked like these comedians were taking a moment of their life and speaking it on stage. While that may seem mean and morbid, I found that it worked well with the comedians. A bit of irony if you don't mind, here we have comedians making fun of the people that are laughing at them. What a strange, continuously circling world we live in. In this film, the audience seemed more glamorized and you could tell that they were laughing at the people, not so much the jokes. This can been seen because Foxworthy didn't do any of his patented "redneck" jokes, it was as if he modified the joke into the "married/gay" routine just for this audience … as well as what I was saying about new material.

Overall, I thought that this was a decent outing, just not quite containing the same insanity as the first. I especially did not enjoy the fact that it ended in a very similar fashion as the first. I just thought that originality and creativity were forgotten about just to capitalize yet again on the popularity of the original. I wouldn't mind seeing these guys in concert live, but it may make me hesitate for a moment to consider renting another one of their films. I, sigh, cannot wait to see more of Larry the Cable Guy and with him doing a voice in the next Pixar film Cars, I know that he is going to be the breakout star of the entire endeavor. If you liked the first film, I don't think it would be unwise to see this film, just be prepared for not as much hilarity as the first provided.

Grade: *** out of *****

While watching the original Blue Collar Comedy Tour, I thought it was one of the funniest collaborations I had ever seen, thus I quickly ordered this DVD to keep the good times rolling. While "Rides Again" provided its fair share of laughs, it also suffered from the law of diminishing returns, to an extent, where the content was still funny but the novelty had worn off a bit. Here is how each individual comedian measures up in the second go-round (in order of appearance):

Bill Engvall: Didn't do nearly enough to supplement his "everyman"/family man routine from the first show. Actually was a bit boring at times.

Ron White: In the first installment, I kind of considered him to be the "odd man out", but he really started to win me over this time with his sarcastic and sharp wit. An upgrade over the original.

Jeff Foxworthy: Gives another great performance, on par with his first try. Very solid and the laughs keep coming.

Larry the Cable Guy: The biggest reason to buy this disc (if you "get" his type of humor). Was hilarious in part one, and keeps that same energy going this time as well.

Overall, this was still a very funny compilation of humor, but it doesn't quite have the original spark of the first title, through no fault of its own. Be prepared for more belly laughs!