There is little funny about Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show, a documentary about stand-up comics on a 30-day tour of America that had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival Saturday.

The film, which borrows its name and concept from 19th century showman Buffalo Bill, who toured the United States with a cast of mythical Western talent, got a muted response from Toronto audiences.

It follows host Vince Vaughn and his band of struggling comics Ahmed Ahmed, John Caparulo, Bret Ernst, Sebastian Mansicalco and Justin Long on 30 gigs from Los Angeles to Chicago in August 2005, with hit-and-miss onstage jokes and cursory backstage banter.

"I thought it would be fun to take a live variety comedy show and go to some towns that don't normally get that kind of thing," Vaughn told reporters at a sombre press conference.

Director Ari Sandel added: "We tried to get into the mind of the comic ... in the trenches, on the ground perspective of what it is to be in the business and go out every night and express yourself, your experiences and your pain."

"To be a comic takes such confidence ... There is nothing but you and a microphone and your thoughts. It's very scary ... When you find out there is a lot of insecurity behind it, it's a very interesting paradox." he said.

Behind the scenes, the comedians talked about their lives: Egyptian-born Ahmed Ahmed was once detained at an airport by overzealous US police; Sebastian Mansicalco worked as a waiter for eight years as he awaited a big break and fully expected to return to that job after the tour.

For sure, the documentary highlighted that stand-up comedy has spiralled since its heyday or "comedy boom" in the 1980s. "Headliners got paid in the 1980s twice how much we get paid now," commented Bret Ernst.

Ahmed told reporters he wanted to quit stand-up comedy after the attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. "I was always talking about being from the Middle East ... I just didn't know what to say. There just wasn't anything funny about being from the Middle East anymore." But he was coaxed back.

"When you come from a self-deprecating place and poke fun at yourself, it's easier for people to laugh with you. My first joke after 9/11 was: 'My name is Ahmed Ahmed and I had nothing to do with it."

Vaughn himself admitted: "A sense of humor has always served me well dealing with things in life that were difficult. Being able to laugh has always been a good way to handle stuff that hasn't always gone well. It's healing."

In the film, the group visited their families. Sebastian Mansicalco quipped on that his parents are now planning to "get head shots" and launch their own movie careers.

Country music singer Buck Owens, who pioneered the so-called Bakersfield sound and co-hosted the popular US variety show Hee Haw with Roy Clark, made his last cameo in the film before his death on March 25. He was 76 years old.

Vaughn has since played in hit movies The Break-up (2006), with Jennifer Aniston of television fame Friends (1994-2004), and Wedding Crashers (2005).

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