accessAtlanta

By RODNEY HO
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

But these fellas, led by Atlanta's "You Might Be a Redneck If . . ." star Jeff Foxworthy, carry just enough of a good ol' boy sensibility to pass muster. Indeed, they joke about NASCAR, Southern accents and stink bait. At the same time, they couch their humor in a genuinely warm aura, proudly stripped of any edge or hipness.

Shot last summer in Phoenix, the film features Foxworthy and three longtime buddies with Southern ties: Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy and Ron White.

Foxworthy said he stole the concept from the successful Original Kings of Comedy tour and film by Spike Lee three years back, which featured Steve Harvey, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer and Bernie Mac. Fans flocked to the concerts, selling out arenas nationwide; the $3 million movie version generated a robust $38 million in revenues.

The Blue Collar tour has pulled off a similar coup, pulling in millions of dollars over three years, including three dates at the Fox Theatre in 2001. The film alludes to its comedy forefathers by having the comics briefly don the kinds of brightly colored suits the Kings of Comedy wore.

Taking a live show and turning it into a film is tricky, because some of the spontaneity and humanity are inevitably lost in translation. And these guys readily admit they aren't exactly eye candy for the big screen. Nonetheless, the jokes still resonate. Each comedian gets solo time (edited a bit from the actual concert), sandwiched by mildly amusing bits of the guys cutting up at a Bass Pro Shop, the mall and a spa.

The gem of the group is Ron White, a 45-year-old Texas native with a cigarette perpetually in hand and a perplexed look on his face. He lacks the shtick the others like Engvall ("Here's Your Sign") and Foxworthy ("You may be a redneck") hang their hats on.

Rather, he's a natural storyteller, with a wry observational skill. "You know those DeBeers diamond commercials?" he asks. "They've become more truth in advertising. First it was, 'A diamond is forever,' then 'It will take her breath away,' then 'Diamonds: Leave her speechless.' "

"Translation is," he says dryly, "that'll shut her up!"

Larry the Cable Guy, in cutoff flannel shirt, cap and britches, as he calls them, looked and spoke the most stereotypically Southern. He was also the raciest: "You ever call those 1-900 lines? One time I got a girl who stuttered. It cost me $1,700."

Engvall and Foxworthy, the headliners, were two peas in the comedy pod, similar in their genial takes on family life. Noting that he and his brother have daughters only, Foxworthy calls it "a naked-Barbie Woodstock. I have a fantasy of being GI Joe on a three-day pass."

But the highlight is at the end, when the four grab stools and trade stories for a half-hour, an ingenious idea that works because the four clearly like each other. The camaraderie is obvious, sort of like eavesdropping on a group of friends hanging out at the Waffle House.

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