Review: 'Bottom's Up' Appeals To Certain Crowd

In show reviews, I'm supposed to give you my fair, honest and unbiased opinion, but what should I do when my opinion is so obviously different than the bulk of the audience's? If I love a show but notice huge portions of the audience walking out in disgust, how much value does my opinion have? 

Likewise, if an audience hoots, hollers and begs for more, but I hate it so much that I find myself praying there may still be an errant piece of the Mir space station plunging through the atmosphere headed directly for my seat in the showroom just so I won't have to watch another moment of the production, does what I think count?

Therein lies my dilemma with "Bottom's Up."

The show is practically a living time capsule as host Breck Wall leads his merry band of comics, singers and dancers through a bawdy revue straight out of the vaudeville era. It's filled with naughty sketches, off-color jokes, raunchy songs and topless dancers in rapid-fire succession, with each segment designed to be more outrageous than the last. This is the kind of show for which the rim-shot was invented.

A few carefully worded examples: Two businessmen find it difficult to order train tickets from a voluptuous ticket agent since they are going to Pittsburgh; an impersonation of Tom Jones that leaves nothing to the imagination when it comes to his, um, "appeal" to women; the extended family history of a clan with a surname that goes quite well with first names like Dumb, Holy, Eat and Jack.

"Bottom's Up" has been around in some incarnation or another for more than 40 years and the leads are variety show veterans. They, along with their nubile female and male dancers, are relentlessly upbeat, energetic and eager to please, and their enthusiasm for the product is obvious.

The audience at the show I attended ate it up. Wicked belly laughs, shocked giggles, and squeals of delight pealed through the Flamingo showroom with extended rounds of applause along the way. The bawdier the show got, the more the audience loved it, as the performers cracked themselves up along with the patrons.

If you're a fan of burlesque and the kind of impish humor that goes along with it, "Bottom's Up" is the show for you. Additional bonuses include the facts that it is inexpensive and it is one of the few shows that has afternoon performances.

So, what about that dilemma of mine? Well, since Mir failed me, I think I'll let the audience grade this one.

Vegas4Visitors Rating: B

Bottoms Up
Flamingo Las Vegas
3555 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Monday through Saturday 2 & 4 p.m.
$12.95
Tickets: (800) 732-2111

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Full Story

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• Review: 'Bottom's Up' Appeals To Certain Crowd
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