Starring: JJ Ramirez, Angel Salazar and Joe Vega
There rsquo;s no doubt The Latin Legends of Comedy serves as a proud nod to three men rsquo;s Latino heritage; not once does the film make any excuse for it rsquo;s Hispanic-centric tone. But producer/director and New York City-based stand-up comic Ray Ellin ndash; not even close to Latin ndash; also deftly creates an exciting and wholly funny film that most fans of comedy would enjoy.
Shot at Comic Strip Live on Manhattan rsquo;s Upper East Side, where the three stars all got their start, Latin Legends shows veteran comics JJ Ramirez, Angel Salazar and Joe Vega engaging a wildly enthusiastic hometown crowd.
While all the comics share an ethnic bond each uses a different set of tools to earn their laughs. Ramirez, a huge fan of Don Rickles and Freddie Prinze, forcefully addresses the crowd, immediately poking fun of what seems like every shade of Latin in the audience. But he rsquo;s got more tricks: He bounces from culture to varicose-veined flight attendants to the Catholic Church: ldquo;Who knew kneeling was a good thing because it kept your ass low and away from the priest, rdquo; he muses.
Vega hits the stage, suit-clad and suave. Out of the three, he tends to sway to more universal themes. He touches on the frustrations of watching cable news, dabbles in the absurd ndash; ldquo;albinos never do anything wrong, rdquo; he says ndash; and talks a lot about sex, admitting he rsquo;s addicted and has tried to give it up by employing the ldquo;snatch patch rdquo; and ldquo;vaginal gum.
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A true performer, Salazar closes the show, proving he rsquo;s equally concerned with stand-up as he is with ensuring the crowd feels part of the show. He routinely addresses audience members by the labels he rsquo;s given them: a black dude named Lance he calls ldquo;Reggie rdquo; because it rsquo;s more black sounding, a middle-aged guy he calls ldquo;Mr. Rogers rdquo; and a white guy he deems gay simply to ensure they rsquo;re sort of represented.
Late in his set, Salazar becomes a living, moving montage of near-nakedness and homoerotic costumes, pulling people on stage, writhing his hips and dancing to cheesy tunes. The crowd eats it up, hooting loudly as Salazar pulls Ellin ndash; he MCs the entire show ndash; onto to the stage to reintroduce the other comics.
Throughout the film, each comic ruminates in interviews, addressing their 20-year friendship, how they struggled in the early 80s as Latin comics (when it wasn rsquo;t entirely cool) and how the national stand-up comedy scene has changed in the last few years.
While clearly the scene has ebbed and flowed, Ramirez, Salazar and Vega are as relevant as ever. Latin Legends helps us remember that.
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