1991 story of redemptionRating: 6/20 (Mark: 9/20; Amy: 19/20; Amy's friend: 20/20)
Plot: A birthday clown named Shakes has a lot of things going for him. He's got friends, he's got a girlfriend with aspirations of becoming a professional bowler, and he's got a shot at a television gig. Unfortunately, his alcoholism has gotten in the way of his career. When rival clown Binky gets the television role instead of him, it sends him over the edge. His girlfriend dumps him, his boss fires him, and his friends are no help. That's what happens when your friends are Adam Sandler, I guess. Things get worse when Shakes is the primary suspect in the murder of his boss. Oh, snap!
You've got to respect a film that makes a large (and largely unfunny) joke out of alcoholism. It's a dark topic for a comedy. The problem with this movie is the lack of anything resembling comedy. It's stuffed with jokes and slapstick more likely to make you roll your eyes than smile. One of the first scenes shows a child peeing on Shakes' face, and the onslaught of scatalogy and vomitology never slows down. The writing is bad enough to make jail time for writer/director/star Bobcat Goldthwaite a legitimate possibility. It didn't take very long for me to want to urinate on Goldthwaite's face. I liked the idea enough, but the story was very thin, stretched like rubber vomit into a ninety-minute film and about as deep as a cream pie. I've seen a lot of movies where I find a lot of scenes that should have been cut, pointless scenes that add absolutely nothing to the story. More than half of the scenes in Shakes the Clown were like that. Robin Williams was also in this. That's rarely a good thing, but this was apparently during one of his non-sober times. This did get a bonus point for a midget mime. I'd apologize for throwing out the M-word after saying I no longer would, but the alliteration was impossible to pass up.
This is one of my sister-in-law Amy's three favorite movies.
This must be the 'clown movie' Jen mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing this on video, just because I remember seeing clowns protesting this movie when it came out. (Nothing is harder to take serious than a protest rally full of clown, except clown evangelists).
He did get better as a film maker, kinda...
Try "Sleeping Dogs Lie". Much stranger topic than the drinkaholic.
Michel DiSilvas
This is indeed "the clown movie"...I can't imagine why she didn't want a part of this action.
ReplyDeleteAt my middle school, we're supposed to decorate our doors with a college. It's supposed to get our inner-city clientele inspired to make college a goal or something. This year I have my door covered with black paper and keep telling people it's a work in progress. I was going to do something with goofy mascots, but I never got around to it.
But two or three years ago, I did a clown evangelism school in Florida. I was the only teacher in the building who did a Christian clown college.
My brother and I talked about a more recent Bobcat movie that was critically acclaimed. I'll give him another shot. I believe I remember hearing what 'Sleeping Dogs Lie' is about which really makes me want to watch it. You know, cause I'm in to that sort of thing.
Speaking of MD, Jen and I have tried to look him up. And Wombat. Not necessarily to get in touch with them (although who wouldn't want to touch Wombat?) but more out of curiosity. Any ideas?