SHAKES THE CLOWN
A film review by Lon Ponschock
Copyright 1992 Lon Ponschock
Pie fits face, so throw it.
Seltzer fits bottle so spray your baby down.
Floppy shoes fit feet, so wear them
And the dirty toes they adorn
Remind you of some clown you once knew
In some hot tent long ago.
Familiar as these baggy pants
That fit like a glove.
Like the bearded lady coming back for more,
Curved into the shape of a blimp
Like they were custom made to do just that.
-- Parody of a jeans ad
-- heard on the "Ben Stiller Show"
SHAKES THE CLOWN is Bobcat Goldthwait's directing and acting debut. It features many of the performers from stand-up TV programs like "Comic Strip Live" and shows a twisted view of the life of a clown. Sort of like Emmet Kelly meets BARFLY. These clowns have their own hangout called the Twisted Balloon at which they have their drinks ... in costume. Performers such as Adam (Opera Man) Sandler from "Saturday Night Live" never appear out of makeup.
We see three classes of clowns in SHAKES: Party Clowns, Rodeo Clowns and Mimes. Robin Williams makes an appearance as Mime Jerry at a school for these benighted performers. Mimes are despised by the clowns and are physically bashed during the course of the movie.
SHAKES did not receive good notices when it came out. I rented it as home video *because* nobody liked it. Anything that a lot of people dislike has probably touched enough nerves to make it worth seeing. This is the case with SHAKES THE CLOWN.
If you take Homey from "In Living Color" and ratchet him up about 90 degrees, you'll get a feel for Shakes who is a known alcoholic and womanizer.
The film will make more sense if you take the following hint: run the film down to the end and listen to the song over the credits, then start the film fresh. Like the commercial says, "You're a grown up. You can do anything you want." SHAKES will make more sense if you do.
In SHAKES THE CLOWN, there are bad clowns and *worse* clowns. The character Binky has landed a hosting job of a children's cartoon show over Shakes and commits several crimes through the course of the story.
There is a lot of crude humor in the film and it works. If you are open to that sort of thing, you'll have many good yucks.
Like the underground classic KILLER CLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (get it if you can find it!) SHAKES THE CLOWN is not appropriate for young viewers. It *is* appropriate for anyone who was ever frightened of a clown as child and lifts the mystery from behind the makeup. But with all of his drinking and womanizing, Shakes is still a bit super human and magical in his ability to jump and spin as no ordinary man could do.
I recommend SHAKES THE CLOWN. Bobcat Goldthwait has taken a chance with this film that may make or ultimately break his career as a director. That's the fate of people who take chances.
Your opinions are welcome.
lon
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