A man in his sixties stands, drinking rum and raising his glass to the crowd, slurring his words as he speaks, wearing a homemade Pope hat, held together by underwear.

Meanwhile, his partner, a larger, harrier man, stands with his shirt off and gut hanging out, beer in hand. Both get a roar from the crowd every time they take a sip of their drinks.

I’m speaking of Randy and Mr. Lahey from the Trailer Park Boys, the most recent act to take the stage at Champs Lounge last week.

The duo from the popular Canadian television show has been on tour, and while I can’t say they have been selling out every show, they certainly sold out in Jasper.

Playing in characters of their East Coast television show, the two men had the crowd in stitches, laughing at their tables, yelling and swearing at the stage and adding more drinks to their tab.

It was then that I realized all these people were essentially paying money (tickets were $15) to see an old man and a topless fat guy get (seemingly) drunk. Their jokes, keeping on the premise of getting wasted, eating cheeseburgers, how to get lucky with a woman and the simplest bathroom jokes, had the crowd loving every minute of it.

Watching the two on stage, it’s hard not to think they are a couple of lazy drunks, who somehow have tapped into the fact that there are people who are willing to pay money to watch them drink, take their shirt off, and joke about peeing your pants. I’ll admit, I found myself laughing with the rest of the crowd as I took photos of the actors. I guess toilet humour never gets old for some people.

But Randy and Mr. Lahey (their real names are Patrick Roach and John Dunsworth), aren’t just two trailer park employees that like to drink – their appearance is a show – as they are, after all, actors.

Roach’s career has mostly relied on the Trailer Park Boys show, and even in the first four years of filming, he continued to work as a sales manager for a bottled water company before turning to acting and touring full-time. He is married and has two young children.

For Dunsworth, unlike his character, Mr. Lahey, he hardly drinks alcohol at all. Dunsworth went to university for acting, and has appeared on many CBC radio dramas and started up his own playhouse on Halifax’s harbor called Pier One Theatre.

He admits he has suffered from a gambling problem, and has played a large role in trying to abolish the video lottery terminals from bars in Nova Scotia.

Dunsworth was also featured on the CBC Newsworld show called The Lens, on the episode titled Playing the Machines – a feature series on gambling addictions and video lottery terminals.

That being said – the two seem to understand there is a market for toilet humour, swearing and drinking in our society, and their script is well rehearsed with improv and props.

Judging from the crowd’s reaction on Sunday night, and their obvious success as a TV show and movie, they are doing well with their cult-like fans.

It’s tempting to take the route of Randy and Mr. Lahey, but for some reason, I think there is more to just getting drunk, taking off your shirt and telling toilet humour – funny as it can be – I’ll stick to my job at the Fitzhugh.