Vince Offer

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Vince Offer is a writer, director and comedian best known for creating the Underground Comedy Movie and appearing as a television pitchman for Shamwow absorbent towels.

1 The Underground Comedy Movie
2 Shamwow commercial
3 External link
4 References

[edit] The Underground Comedy Movie

Main article: Underground Comedy Movie

In 1999 Offer released the Underground Comedy Movie to scathing reviews. Lawrence Van Gelder of the New York Times described the movie as, "a series of sketches built around subjects like masturbation, defecation, alienation, urination, necrophilia, voyeurism, casual brutality and mockery of the unfortunate." He added that Offer "makes the common mistake of equating the recognition of comic potential for comedy itself. For the successful, talent bridges the gap, but here it is absent."^[1] DVDs of the film were marketed via television infomerical.

The film also generated several lawsuits. Offer filed a copyright-infringement suit against the Peter and Bobby Farrelly and Twentieth Century Fox, claiming that 14 scenes in There's Something About Mary were taken from his own film. The Farrelly brothers responded, "We've never heard of him, we've never heard of his movie, and it's all a bunch of baloney."^[2] In addition, Offer sued Anna Nicole Smith for breach of contract, alleging that Smith had agreed to appear in Underground Comedy Movie but backed out, claiming it would hurt her career.^[3]

In 2004, Offer, an ex-Scientologist, sued the Church of Scientology, alleging it had declared him a criminal and had urged its members to "write false and malicious reports against him." Offer claimed that the church's action against him caused him to lose a successful business, as many of his employees were Scientologists who quit upon learning of the church's actions.^[4]

[edit] Shamwow commercial

Offer, who appeared on infomericals for his movie and also sold kitchen utensils at a swap meet, appears as a spokesman in a commercial for Shamwow absorbent towels that began airing in the spring of 2008. Offer's work on the ad received some comment in the media. Slate.com's Seth Stevenson praised Offer for his "impressive and subtle mastery of the pitchman's art" and wondered if Offer's "abrasive manner might also mark a unique, new strategy in the annals of pitchdom." Stevenson compared Offer to earlier, gentler television pitchmen like Billy Mays and the Home Shopping Network hosts and concluded that Offer's "smooth-talking condescension" was more suited to the present zeitgeist than the "earnest fervor" of spokesmen like Mays and Ron Popeil.^[5]

Stevenson noted that Offer's "hectoring tone... makes us feel like idiots for even entertaining the notion of not buying a Shamwow." Offer even berates his own crew with "You followin' dis, camera guy?" At one point in the ad, Offer makes the dubious claim "You're gonna spend $20 every month on paper towels, anyway" and "seems truly dumbfounded that anyone might fail to see the wisdom of dropping 28 bucks (including shipping) on a set of rags."^[5]