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The Vince from ShamWow Movie (aka The Underground Comedy Movie)

You’ve probably seen that irritating twerp Vince from ShamWow on TV. Well it turns out that Vince had something of a history in entertainment before he ever started annoying people on the ShamWow commercials.

His name is Vince Offer and he wrote, directed, and starred in a 1999 movie called The Underground Comedy Movie, which was a sketch comedy film. To say that Vince’s movie was panned by critics would be quite an understatement. The New York Times claimed, “The Underground Comedy Movie stands as a monument to ineptitude and self-delusion.” Entertainment Weekly rated the movie an “F” and said of Vince Offer, “He’s got a second grader’s notion of satire.” The public doesn’t seem to like this movie any better than the critics: The average user rating on Netflix is 1.6 (out of 5) and caustic comments like “This movie was by far the worst movie I ever saw” appear with some regularity.

Apparently, Vince tried to sell DVDs of this movie through a TV commercial. I missed that commercial but you can watch the trailer here.

Infomercials and really bad movies are two of my great passions in life. So it brought tears to my eyes when I found out Vince from ShamWow had created a movie many earnestly claimed was the worst of all time. Needless to say, The Underground Comedy Movie went straight to the top of my Netflix queue.

So in great hopes of seeing one of the worst films ever made I watched Vince Offer’s directorial debut. And this may be the most difficult thing I have ever had to write in this blog but…

It’s not that bad.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying it’s a good film. I can confidently state that The Underground Comedy Movie sucks. But I just don’t think it’s a strong candidate for worst movie of all time. Keep in mind that I am an aficionado of trash cinema, so my perspective is a lot more jaded than that of most people. If you think the Vince from ShamWow movie is the worst movie of all time, then please have a look at Revenge of the Cheerleaders, Dice Rules, Dracula the Dirty Old Man, or any movie directed by Doris Wishman and then get back to me…or check into your nearest mental hospital.

The Underground Comedy Movie is lowbrow, gross-out comedy. The humor consists mainly of body parts, bodily fluids, comic violence, and nude bag ladies. The movie is based on sketches from Vince Offer’s L.A. cable access TV show and the humor is precisely at the level you would expect from a cable access show. The movie tries to offend people as much as it tries to make them laugh. Yes, most of the comedy is pretty awful and unfunny but it is not much different than lots of other attempts at low budget, lowbrow comedy. I will even admit to laughing out loud a few times (and I was laughing with it not at it), mainly at the old lady in the “Bat Man” sketch.

The Vince from ShamWow movie features lots of D-List celebrities: Gena Lee Nolin, Joey Buttafuoco, Michael Clarke Duncan, Slash, Angelyne. There is also an appearance by the once-respected actress Karen Black, and some “before they were famous” scenes with Ant (of Last Comic Standing) and Bobby Lee (of Mad TV). I love how this 1996 story in Entertainment Weekly reports that Axl Rose and Anna Nicole Smith were slated to appear in the movie—and instead they had to settle for Slash and Angelyne! In fact, Vince Offer sued Anna Nicole Smith in 2000 for backing out of the movie because she thought it would be detrimental to her career—probably the only wise decision Smith ever made in her tragic life.

The litigation surrounding The Underground Comedy Movie is more interesting than the movie itself. Vince Offer filed suit against the Farrelly brothers, creators of There’s Something About Mary, claiming they stole ideas from a promotional copy of The Underground Comedy Movie they received in 1997. Indeed, at the end of the DVD this appears on screen:

In 2004, Offer sued the Church of Scientology (of which he was once a member) for waging a “propaganda campaign” against him and his movie. (Yeah, Vince, that’s why your film never became a hit.)

It seems to me that Vince Offer thought The Underground Comedy Movie would catapult him into legitimate stardom; when it failed to do so he blamed Anna Nicole Smith, the Farrelley brothers, and the Church of Scientology—overlooking the more obvious explanation that his movie never became a hit because it just plain sucked.

It is no wonder that one theme in this movie is that of people in L.A. struggling to make it big in Hollywood. In “The Godmother” sketch Vinny (played by guess who) wants the Godmother to get him a part in a film. In the “Psychology Today” sketch, a young starlet tells her shrink about her struggles with the casting couch. And the “I Hate L.A.” music video contains lyrics about aspiring actresses trying to sleep their way to the top.

The other recurring theme in this landmark work of cinema is…sperm. Vince Offer must think that male ejaculate is the funniest substance on the planet. During a sketch called “The Porno Movie Review” they review a film called “Sperm Lake.” The “Dickman” sketch features a superhero whose head is a giant phallus—and I think you can figure out what weapon he uses to fight criminals. Near the end of the film an unnamed character played by Offer gets a big load of man-goo dumped on his face. I just wonder: Did Vince use a ShamWow to wipe it off?

Comments

  • 45 Responses to “The Vince from ShamWow Movie (aka The Underground Comedy Movie)”

  • I remember seeing the commercial for this years ago!!!! Strange how things that used to be so insignificant to me are now so important.

    Comment by Emilin8r on August 18, 2008 at 10:12 pm

  • This is almost too good to be true…even more reasons to mock this asshole. The bitchy lawsuits are no surprise; he’s obviously as big a tool as that faux-hawk suggests.

    Comment by Alex on August 19, 2008 at 2:12 am

  • “I just wonder: Did Vince use a ShamWow to wipe it off?”

    lol yeah, I remember this commercial, and I remember thinking it looked horrible.

    Comment by diemwing on August 20, 2008 at 1:49 am

  • I’m sorry, but it looks hilarious to me. Call me a philistine, I love lowbrow.

    Comment by Al Frank on August 22, 2008 at 2:14 pm

  • This guy is hysterical…unintentionally. Not just really annoying, he’s gotta have one of the strangest faces I’ve ever seen. He looks like Willem Dafoe and Buster Poindexter had a baby…..creeeepy.

    Comment by David on August 25, 2008 at 3:05 pm

  • Arrghh..I DO remember seeing the commercials for this flotsam. I believe it was run during Howard Stern’s short-lived CBS late night jaunt (1999-2000, if I remember correctly). A good ad buy there, you’re hitting the right market.

    I did not order it, and I think I made the right decision. Now the guy is selling shammy cloths. Wow, indeed.

    Comment by Scott Mercer on August 30, 2008 at 4:15 pm

  • This move rocks and kicks ass. It offends the left and liberals so they disparage it because it exposes how stupid they are. One of the funniest movies ever!

    Comment by Jane on August 31, 2008 at 10:53 pm

  • He still isn’t as bad as Billy Mays yelling about oxy crap.

    Comment by JJ on September 3, 2008 at 9:31 am

  • Now I know where I saw this guy earlier. He looks like what you would get, if you put Willem Dafoe in a bad photocopy (Xerox) machine.

    Comment by znkp on September 8, 2008 at 4:14 pm

  • Yeah, they ran commercials for this all the time during Howard Stern’s show on E!

    Vince wasn’t in the commercial. It was just the trailer and a phone number to order it.

    Comment by eras on September 26, 2008 at 9:32 pm

  • I am the original chamois guy (see 6 year old video on my website http://www.mooseriverchamois.com). Does anyone know where Vince came from before he made the Shamwow commercial? Was he a pitchman working at trade shows and state fairs like I am or is he just an actor who was hired to do the commercial? I have asked everyone in the Pitchman business if they had ever heard of Vince before the commercial came out and nobody has ever heard of him. Who is Vince and what was his connection to the chamois before he made an infomercial for it.

    Comment by Mark Holman on October 30, 2008 at 6:24 am

  • Mark, I suspect the world is actually big enough for more than one chamois salesman.

    Comment by Chico on December 21, 2008 at 10:48 am

  • In the Slap Chop commercial he actually says, “Ladies, you’ll love my nuts.”

    Comment by lee harrison on December 28, 2008 at 10:42 am

  • Mark, Offer was a long-time pitchman at flea markets, trade shows and swap meets. He sold some kind of vegetable chopper device, which is how he funded the production of his crappy movie (and also how he funded his various lawsuits against The Farrellys and the C of S).

    Comment by Saul Rubenstein on January 5, 2009 at 11:24 am

  • I am a huge fan of Vince. I would buy anything he tried to sell me. I would buy the lines in a parking lot from Vince. He has such an honest face and you can tell he really believes in what he is saying. If I was gay I’d sleep with Vince and use a Sham-Wow to clean up the wet spot.

    I love him that much!

    Comment by Intercaust on January 6, 2009 at 3:24 pm

  • I have to admit, I usually do not purchase Chamois at all, but when I do it’s from some store that sells the “not sold in stores” items. So I took my cynical views and studied Vince in his ShamWow commercial. During the viewing, I said, “this guy is entering Billy Mays territory. What is the subtle message Vince is trying to convey? I mean, not just ANYBODY can sell chamois”. At that split-in-half nanosecond Vince said “You know the Germans. They make good stuff” at that moment,I knew that Vince’s message is of peace and prosperity, bringing all sorts of ethnic backgrounds together. That is the difference between “the good guy I-look-like-Bob-Vila” Billy Mays and the truly captivating Vincent Offer.

    Thank you and Godspeed!!!

    Comment by Art Cadbury on January 8, 2009 at 1:40 pm

  • Jane – Yeah this movie is awesome… its sooooo conservative!!!!

    Comment by Steve on January 10, 2009 at 7:14 am

  • #13: Yea, I saw that commercial tonite for the SlapChop, my sister LOLd at the nuts comment. I love that each ad has the old “cause you know we can’t do this all day” as if the phone center operators have more important things to do for most of their day besides selling shammies and choppers….

    Comment by lorrey on January 11, 2009 at 7:21 pm

  • Underground Comedy Movie was a pretty good film in my book. I watched it with two friends, and we all agreed it was one of the better movies we had seen recently. Sure, it has low-brow humor, but it does it tastefully and more importantly, it makes me laugh.

    There were scenes in that movie that are eerily similar to There’s Something About Mary, and I think Vince was right to file a lawsuit.

    If you don’t like the movie, you might just be a bit too up-tight.

    Comment by TawnyFan on January 13, 2009 at 12:50 am

  • Worst 2 dollars I ever spend on this film. I watched 20 minutes of this film, then took out the DVD and nearly took a shower for 3 hours to get rid of the dirty feeling that I had. Don’t get me wrong I love bad movies, but this is just BAD.

    Comment by Anthony on January 16, 2009 at 1:30 pm

  • I am a huge Vince fan! I want his microphone. I wonder if he actually uses it for audio purposes or if it’s just there for added dramatic effect…either way Vince is epic.

    Comment by Amy on January 22, 2009 at 10:06 pm

  • He didn’t really blame the unsuccessfullness of his movie on Scientology. They funded the movie and got some scientologists to star in it (like Slash). But when it sucked, they basically held their own little trial where he didn’t get to have a defense and wouldn’t tell him what the charges against him were. So they kicked him out and later edited his movie to make him look like a jerk (even more so). So I can kinda see why he’s pissed the Scientology. When he got kicked out, there went his job, friends, and basically life. Now he’s on tv, getting his life back, and sueing the people who took it away. Go Vince!

    Comment by Elizabeth on January 24, 2009 at 1:48 pm

  • Yeah, at least you were fair to his work, but Vince isn’t making up the stuff he said about Scientology. They were pissed at him for essentially making a bad film, and then proceeded to go all 8th grade popular girl on the guy. He deserves some form of a reparation the abuse he received.

    Comment by Yeranasshole on January 25, 2009 at 3:15 am

  • Dice Rules is excellent. WTF are you talking about?

    Comment by A-Fraud on January 28, 2009 at 4:57 pm

  • Because of Vince, Slap Chop is one of a few commercials I’ve ever taped to save. I laughed so hard when he said, “You’re going to love my nuts” that I had to replay it to make sure I’d heard it correctly. I need to check out his movie now just to give him props as he was very entertaining on his Info Commercial. Keep us laughing Vince!

    Comment by Dr Sick on January 30, 2009 at 4:57 pm

  • Vince Offer is fucking awesome I don’t care how many shitty movies he’s made and I don’t care what anyone says

    Comment by bob bastard on February 1, 2009 at 6:49 pm

  • The guy just cracks me up! Is he on some kind of Speed or does his metabolism just naturally act this way? You go, Vince!

    Comment by TWhite on February 6, 2009 at 7:41 pm

  • Vince Offer is a HEATHEN!

    Comment by Sonnyboy on February 15, 2009 at 6:57 pm

  • I’d fuck him.

    Comment by Emily on February 22, 2009 at 6:51 pm

  • I have to admit…he’s not quite as scary looking with long, blonde hair!

    Comment by Hot Gym Girl on February 25, 2009 at 1:40 pm

  • Everytime time I see the ShamWo commercial I am oddly aroused.

    It’s that phallic headseat and how close it is to Vince’s mouth that does it to me everytime. It’s almost as if he’s sending of a subliminal message to me.

    I want to have hot, sweaty, nasty, sticky sex with Vince and then clean up afterwards with a ShamWow.

    Comment by bowery on March 5, 2009 at 12:01 pm

  • For reasons unknown to me I just googled shamwow and one of my lifes great mysteries has been solved! I’ve been convinced (pun intended) that I knew that headset wearing guy from the commercial and in fact I did know Vincent Offer from the bar scene in the mid-late 90’s in LA. He always wanted me to meet him at the Laemmle theater on Crescent Heights to see the weekend midnight showing of this movie. Never met up with him. Drying my tears with a shamwow as I type

    Comment by Jason on March 10, 2009 at 12:16 am

  • I love Vince! I’d screw him. 🙂

    Comment by ScooterChic on March 11, 2009 at 7:26 pm

  • hi guys, billy mays here!! just a quick note to let the world know that ol vince was a drag queen, selling chainsaw carved lawn ornaments at the local flea market before i took him under my wing… but alas i raised him up proper and look at the schuyster sons a bitch now… all sue happy and whatnot, it warms my bearded little heart.

    Comment by bebo ludois on March 24, 2009 at 7:14 am

  • The prostitute thing made me laugh so hard I nearly shit myself.

    Comment by me on March 31, 2009 at 12:32 am

  • I think the movie is an instant classic. Who would actually put this crap together? Vince! That’s who. I had one copy stolen and had to buy another one. NO OTHER MOVIE can gross out an entire room of guys faster than this one.

    I love it, I’ve forced (sometimes with physical restraints) ALL my friends to watch it. And yes, some of them hate me for it. But it’s too damn horrific to not be shown to every human being.

    Comment by AD on May 29, 2009 at 6:44 am

  • Is Vince having a stroke?

    Comment by Shaun on June 29, 2009 at 9:24 am

  • Dude i have this movie.
    Bought before i knew who he was.

    Comment by BigBalls on July 1, 2009 at 7:54 pm

  • #29 Emily……….. Simple but f*ckin hilarious!!! LOL

    Comment by DR on April 10, 2010 at 6:49 pm

  • JJ, Billy Mays was GREAT! So shut your damn mouth.

    Comment by will on September 22, 2010 at 11:24 pm

  • Slash is not, nor was he ever a scientologist. If you dont know what your talking about SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!!!!

    Comment by randy blythe on September 22, 2010 at 11:35 pm

  • I just went to a pre-screening of Underground Comedy and it was the WORST MOVIE I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE! THIS WILL NEVER MAKE IT PAST DVD! YOU SUCKKKKKK!!!!!!

    Comment by jill on July 14, 2011 at 1:14 am

  • id pay 100$ to first person to deck Vince on air

    Comment by micheal on May 10, 2012 at 5:10 am

  • I just went to another screening of InAPPropriate Comedy I think according to IMDB the name changed and it was HORRIBLE !!! Not funny..offensive, and all the B LIST ACTORS are for the most part UNFUNNY.. No wonder the FARLEYS cant get their SKIT FILM to see the light of DAY! SAVE YOUR MONEY AND WATCH “FUNNY OR DIE” ON YOUR COMPUTER !! BETTER YET.. BUY a SCHTICKY ~~~ LOL

    Comment by joe blow on August 1, 2012 at 3:02 pm

  • Just to let everyone know, Vince did make a cameo in Adam Sandler’s 2011 films “Jack and Jill”.

    Comment by President Mendo on July 13, 2016 at 3:18 pm