Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector Reviews

Blue Collar Comedy star Larry the Cable Guy has a popular TV show, a strong following among both the red-of-neck and the superior types who laugh at them, a couple of comedy CDs, and an all-purpose catchphrase: "Get-r-done!" Larry, born Daniel Lawrence Whitney, is a devotee of malapropisms and stereotypes of the poor white underclass, and it was only a matter of time before he got his own critic-proof movie, custom-made for fans and fans alone. The "cable guy" part notwithstanding, Larry works for the Department of Health because, he says poignantly, keeping people from blowin' chunks and crapping themselves is all he's ever been good at. And suddenly everyone is blowin' and crappin': An outbreak of food poisoning has struck the local four-star restaurants, including Micelli's, the high-priced eatery owned by Lily Micelli (Joanna Cassidy) where Larry and his new girlfriend, Jane (Megyn Price), have their first date. At Mayor M.T. Gunn's (Joe Pantoliano) request, Larry's hypertensive boss (Tom Wilson) hands the case to Larry and his new straight-edge partner, Amy Butlin (Iris Bahr) — a woman so severe Larry mistakes her for a man. After a preliminary tour of stricken restaurants in the "Larry-mobile" — a filthy pickup with anti-gun control and pro-Hooters stickers on the bumpers and redneck rock on the radio — Larry and Amy suspect premeditated malfeasance and ask themselves why anyone would want to discredit the best restaurants in town. Could it have anything to do with the upcoming All City Top Chef competition and its $250,000 prize? The food-poisoning plot leaves room for every conceivable fart joke and bathroom noise, the many shots of earwax and urine are a pretty good indication of what Larry thinks is funny, and the restaurants he's required him to visit facilitate jibes at the expense of "immigrant" types and their funny food. The upshot is, of course, that Larry isn't as dumb as he looks and we shouldn't judge beer-gutted guys in sleeveless shirts and trucker caps — or any one else — according to our own personal prejudices. We can, however — perhaps even should — insult the boss by implying he's gay and suspect anyone with a modicum of intelligence or pretension to culture of being not quite right. Folks watching any movie that opens with a shot of a butt crack (with the possible exception of LOST IN TRANSLATION) can't claim they weren't warned.