David Cross: Let America Laugh

OK, so Let America Laugh is not a sketch comedy performance compilation nor is it the visual version of the excellent two-disc comedy record Shut Up You Fucking Baby. If it's any thing, it could be called a tour documentary. Lovable rascal comedian David Cross asks filmmaker Lance Bangs to follow him around with a video camera during his 2002 summer tour. Traveling in a minivan with band Ultrababyfat, Cross visits the heartland of America and heads west. The documentary, such as it is, contains some stand-up comedy with a lot of backstage footage and on-the-road hijinks. It starts in the South, with Cross trying to deal with loud, obnoxious audiences. The minivan stops in various American cities (and one Canadian) to do a show and attend various parties. Cross makes enemies with a macho club owner, is persued by a duo of blonde groupies, and does an impromptu interview with a drunken promoter. After a few shows in California and a promotional appearance at a Virgin megastore with the Mr. Show cast, the tour ends in his home town of Atlanta, GA.