If you were wandering through a video store in the late nineties or scrolling through late-night cable, you might have stumbled upon something that felt like a fever dream. It was loud. It was offensive. It was, quite frankly, a mess. I'm talking about The Underground Comedy Movie. Released in 1999, this flick became a lightning rod for controversy, not because it was high art, but because it pushed every single boundary it could find until the hinges broke off. The cast of The Underground Comedy Movie is a bizarre time capsule of 90s fringe culture, featuring a mix of future stars, professional provocateurs, and people who probably wish their IMDB page had a "delete" button for this specific entry.
Directed by Vince Offer—yes, the ShamWow guy—the film is a series of sketches that aim to offend literally everyone. It’s the kind of project that makes you wonder how these specific people ended up in the same room. Honestly, looking back at the lineup now feels like looking at a glitch in the Hollywood simulation.
The Man Behind the Madness: Vince Offer
You can't talk about the performers without talking about Vince Offer. Before he was hawking absorbent towels and slapping chops, he was a guy with a vision. Or a vendetta. Depending on who you ask. Offer didn't just direct; he was the primary face among the cast of The Underground Comedy Movie, appearing in several of the most infamous sketches.
He spent a fortune of his own money to get this made. He even sued the Church of Scientology and several high-profile stars like Jerry Seinfeld, claiming they were out to get him or stealing his ideas. It’s that level of chaotic energy that defines the film. In the movie, Offer plays characters like the "B_tt-Crack Joe," leaning into a brand of humor that most studios wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. His performance is raw, unpolished, and intensely committed to the bit, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes the viewer.
The Surprising Appearance of Slash
Wait, the guitarist from Guns N' Roses? Yeah. Really.
One of the biggest head-scratchers when looking at the cast of The Underground Comedy Movie is seeing Slash. He doesn't have a massive, Shakespearean monologue. He’s just... there. He appears in a segment where he basically plays himself, or at least a version of the rock legend persona. It’s one of those "how did this happen" moments in cinema history.
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Reportedly, Slash was friends with some of the crew or just happened to be in the right (or wrong) place at the right time. His presence gives the film a weirdly high-profile edge that it probably didn't deserve. It’s the ultimate trivia nugget. Next time you're at a bar and someone mentions 90s rock, drop the fact that Slash is in the same movie as a guy getting hit in the groin for laughs. It never fails to confuse people.
Joey Buttafuoco and the 90s Tabloid Connection
If you weren't around in the 90s, the name Joey Buttafuoco might not mean much. But for those who lived through the "Long Island Lolita" scandal, he was everywhere. He was the quintessential tabloid villain.
Casting him was a stroke of marketing genius, or perhaps just a desperate grab for relevance. Either way, Buttafuoco’s presence in the cast of The Underground Comedy Movie solidified its status as a piece of "trash culture" history. He plays "Sonny," a parody of his own tough-guy, greaseball image. Seeing him on screen alongside Vince Offer is a reminder of a specific era of American media where infamy was just as good as fame. He wasn't an actor, and it shows, but that’s almost the point. The movie thrives on that lack of professional polish.
The Supporting Players: Michael McManus and More
Beyond the "names," the film is filled with character actors and models who were clearly game for anything. Michael McManus is a standout. He’s one of those guys you’ve seen in a dozen different things, but here, he’s leaned into the absurdity of Offer’s sketches.
Then there's the revolving door of background actors. Some of them were aspiring comedians from the LA scene who thought this might be their big break. Instead, they ended up in a film that was buried by critics and almost impossible to find for years.
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- Ant: The stand-up comedian known for Last Comic Standing makes an appearance.
- Gia Carides: Known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which is a wild jump in tone.
- Barbara Rivera: A regular in the sketch segments.
The sheer variety is staggering. You have people who would go on to win awards or become household names, and people who disappeared into total obscurity. It's a snapshot of the hustle in late-90s Hollywood. Everyone was looking for the "next big thing," and for a minute, Vince Offer convinced a lot of people that this was it.
Why the Performers Took the Risk
Why would anyone join the cast of The Underground Comedy Movie?
Money is the obvious answer, but Offer wasn't exactly a mogul. The real draw was the "anti-establishment" vibe. In 1999, South Park was huge. Jackass was just around the corner. There was a massive appetite for content that flipped the bird at polite society. Performers wanted to be part of something "dangerous."
Of course, there’s a fine line between "edgy" and "unwatchable." Most critics at the time felt the movie landed firmly in the latter category. The New York Times and other major outlets essentially tore it to shreds. Yet, that hatred fueled its cult status. If the "elites" hated it, the "underground" had to love it, right? That was the logic, anyway.
The Legacy of the Ensemble
Looking at the cast of The Underground Comedy Movie today is a lesson in the unpredictability of show business. Vince Offer eventually found his niche in direct-response television, becoming a multi-millionaire through the ShamWow and the Slap Chop. He even made a spiritual successor called Inappropriate Comedy in 2013, which featured big names like Adrien Brody and Lindsay Lohan. It seems he never lost his ability to convince famous people to do weird stuff on camera.
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The original film remains a relic. It’s a messy, loud, and often genuinely baffling collection of talent. It represents a time before the internet made everything "safe" or "sharable." This was a movie you had to see on a bootleg DVD or a late-night broadcast to believe it existed.
The actors involved mostly moved on. Some embraced it as a funny footnote in their careers, while others likely omit it from their bios. But for fans of cult cinema and the truly bizarre, this cast remains one of the most fascinatingly mismatched groups ever put on celluloid. It wasn't about the acting; it was about the audacity.
How to Explore This Era of Cult Comedy
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of 90s underground film and the people who made them, start by looking at the independent sketch scene in Los Angeles from 1995 to 2000.
- Research Public Access TV: Many of the performers in these types of films got their start on public access channels, which were the "YouTube" of the 90s.
- Check Out "Inappropriate Comedy": To see how Vince Offer’s "casting magic" evolved, compare the 1999 film to his 2013 follow-up. The jump in star power is genuinely shocking.
- Search for Out-of-Print Media: Sometimes the most interesting stories about these actors are found in old physical magazines like Film Threat or Scary Monsters Magazine, which covered the fringe side of the industry.
- Analyze the Tabloid Meta: Look into the careers of Joey Buttafuoco or John Wayne Bobbitt (who also flirted with this scene) to understand how the 90s turned scandal into "entertainment" credits.
The reality is that cast of The Underground Comedy Movie is more than just a list of names. It’s a roadmap of 90s weirdness. It shows us that in Hollywood, the line between a "star" and a "nobody" is often just one very strange casting decision away. Whether you love the movie or think it's the worst thing ever made, you can't deny that the group of people Vince Offer assembled was, if nothing else, unforgettable.