Customer Reviews

Shakes the Clown

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I love DVD movies and for the longest time, the only reason I kept my laserdisc player was because I was afraid that "Shakes the Clown" would never come out on DVD. Let's face it; "Shakes the Clown" was an absolute flop in the theaters, and Bobcat Golthwait gambled his career on the movie, which never quite recovered. But since on video, "Shakes the Clown" has gained a strong cult following as one of the funniest, irreverent, misunderstood comedies of all time.

There are 2 kinds of people in this world; People who like "Shakes the Clown" and people who don't. Here's a quiz to find out which camp you fall into: If you like Liam Neeson movies, thought Julia Roberts was at her perkiest in the Runaway Bride, eat a lot of low-fat food and don't understand most Adam Sandler jokes, this isn't your movie. However, if you like South Park, if the Cable Guy was your favorite Jim Carrey film, and can appreciate the brilliance of well-constructed potty-humor, "Shakes the Clown" is right up your alley.

Bobcat is Shakes the Clown; an alcoholic party clown that doesn't know how to turn his life around. He hangs out in a dumpy clown-bar ("The Twisted Balloon"), and vainly wishes he could be a television clown. All he needs is one big break, but he's generally too drunk to do what's best for himself, like practice his juggling and regular pie-throwing target practice.

Binky the clown is his arch nemesis; Binky is the suburban party-clown that is used to things going his way. Binky is also busy pushing dope he buys from the more rowdy Rodeo Clowns. Shakes ends up in the wrong place during a bad drug deal and gets framed for killing a leader of the clown community with a juggling pin.

That's the basic plot and you know by now whether you will enjoy the movie or not. In my opinion it's absolutely brilliant and, even though crude at times, makes for an interesting look at the different factions within society and how we behave towards people from different backgrounds. It's not a cutesy morale-building movie, but it's message is thinly cloaked with hilarious dialogue and humor.

Now I can finally sell my laserdisc player.....

Pre-dating the much more popular "Bad Santa" by a good decade or so, Bobcat Goldthwait's sole directorial effort may have been a little too ahead of its time for its own good. Not that this is a groundbreaking piece of cinema, but within its narrow genre (Bitter Alcoholic Children's Entertainers) it has become a cult classic. Depending on your innate sense of humor, you will be either unspeakably shocked or wickedly delighted. Bobcat plays the title role fairly straight, considering the outrageousness of the story's central conceit. Something almost all reviews I've ever read seem to miss is the fact that Goldthwait's "clowns" are really a send-up of stand-up comedians, with all the backstage insecurity, jealously, pettiness and angst barely contained by the "happy" face paint (Maybe I recognize this underlying context because I used to work in stand up!) Julie Brown is appropriately twisted as the "love is blind" girlfriend, and Robin Williams almost steals the movie in his cameo as an abusive mime instructor. Not for all tastes, but worth a peek.

It's nice to see that so many people out there have finally "gotten" this movie (it's belly-flopped when originally released). It has an incredibly flimsy story and no real depth of character but, guess what? Some movies just don't need strong story and characterization. Especially, when it's filled with such talented comedians as Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Adam Sandler (before he became huge), Kathy Griffin, Tom Kenny (from "Mr. Show" who steals every scene he's in), SNL's Tim Kazurinsky, and the legendary Paul Dooley ("Say, you clowns are on dope!"). The language throughout is so blue it's almost aquamarine, and yet it doesn't pander to the depths of gross-out humor that some comedies have (though there are scenes of vomit and urination played for laughs, the jokes are actually FUNNY). Man, this film is funny, funny, funny. See it! A cult classic.

I really loved this movie, but it appeales to a certain sense of humor. Here's the litmus test: This flick begins with a cameo of Florence Henderson (aka Mrs. Brady) as Shakes the clown's washed out one night stand. If you don't find this the least bit funny then, "move along. nothing to see here." If this visual made you smile then watch Shakes the Clown. Its a rare gem.

Following the exploits of a good-hearted, booze-soaked clown who is trying to make his way in Palookaville, a town populated by denizens of that certain ditch in the entertainment world inhabited by clowns and mimes. He tries to kick the booze but his demons are hard to face. He gets involved in seedy intrigue with the tough, jaded rodeo clowns, picks on the mimes, and tries to avoid the indignity of doing balloon animals, all while keeping the bottle at bay lest he wake up puking into his frightwig. Oh yes, there's a love interest as well. Tasteless? Absolutely. Funny? If you know and love an alcoholic (or a clown), and you can still laugh about it, this movie will send you rolling off the couch and onto the floor in stitches. The relapse scene at the kids' pool party is alone worth the price of admission. A great cameo by Florence Henderson, and what may have been the last time Robin Williams was funny. Not for everyone, though, and let me state this for the record - NOT FOR THE KIDS!!! Got that? Now, go watch this!

I'm always looking for quirky/funny movies and this one is a jem! I saw it when it first came out and have worn out two VHS copies and am now working on the DVD.

To date I still can't hear Muddy Water's "Mannish Boy" without envisioning Shakes swaggering out of the gas station mens room. The cameos in the flick are great too! Florence Henderson as a clown groupie. Robin Williams putting Shakes through his paces as a mime instructor.

Funny stuff! Can't recommend it enough!

Leonard Maltin really doesn't get it! Like most critics, he doesn't want to look at the underbelly of society and see the humor there. To use the premise of "innocent clowns" that we all equate with happy childhood memories, and depict them as real cursing, alcoholic, angry, jealous, murderous,depressed, drug abusing humans is comic genius! Just the idea makes one laugh! Of course it's raw, of course it's crude, but that's the POINT! Clowns are supposed to be happy, smiling icons of goodness. These clowns are NOT! That's what makes "Shakes the Clown" work. Other than a few minutes of boring "filler" scenes, the entire movie makes you laugh, whether you feel guilty about it or not! And it doesn't even need Robin Williams, although that's a nice surprise. Any movie that opens with Florence Henderson's make-up smeared face after a one night stand with a drunken clown HAS to be great. A masterpiece for Bobcat!

A review quoted on the VHS box calls "Shakes" "the 'Citizen Kane' of alcoholic clown movies." With a rave like that, how can you go wrong, particularly if you're the type of person who loves coarse, scatological, and downright juvenile humor (as I unashamedly do)? Bobcat Goldthwaite turns in a bravura performance (he should, he wrote the screenplay) as a second-rate, besotted "party clown" with an attitude. When he's wrongfully framed for the murder of a promoter by his evil, clown rival, Binky, Shakes gets sober and mean and in touch with his inner Bozo to clear his name and bring rough justice. Julie "Downtown" Brown, plays his patient and ditzy-but-smarter than-her-man love interest. Cameos by Florence Henderson (think Mrs. Brady with running clown make-up after a one-nighter with Shakes), the late Lawanda Page ("Aunt Esther" from Sanford & Son) (another clown lush with the raunchiest lines in the film), Robin Williams (appearing in the credits under the nom de guerre of "Marty Fromage" [heck, I'd be embarrassed, too] as a mime instuctor) lend "gravitas" to an otherwise lightweight cast. Said cast includes Adam Sandler, in a supporting role as a clown side-kick to Shakes. Who knew he would go on to win Drew Barrymore's heart playing the fool minus the red nose and white face as a wedding singer?

The "plot" (such as it is) takes place in - and the film's entire premise is - a clown "town" where virtually all the citizens are either party clowns, rodeo clowns or mimes. Rodeo clowns rule, while mimes are beaten up for sport by everyone else as the bottom of the clown heap. Now, you might ask yourself: "Is this supposed to be some form of 'deep social commentary' a la Werner Herzog's 'Even Dwarfs Started Small'?" Get real! There is zero in this film that any sane person could, should or would take seriously. But that's the charm.

Confidentially, I've always found clowns to be sinister, hidden-agenda types; but "Shakes" was right up my rat-infested, garbage-strewn alley, AND it cured me of my clown hang-ups. I have foisted it, reverentially but insistently, on many a friend -- some of whom actually remained friends after they watched "Shakes". So waste a few bucks and a perfectly good evening. And it helps to be half in the bag yourself. Cult classic, indeed.

One of my favorite movies on Laser disk starred Bobcat Goldthwait and Julie Brown, with an un-credited appearance by Robin Williams. Finally, Shakes the Clown is available on DVD. I was disappointed with the deleted scenes, and lack of 5.1 surround sound; but still, from the opening scene of a boy pissing on Shakes' face, to the final pandemonium in the television studio, Shakes the Clown is a funny, sometimes outstanding, look at the world of, well, drunken clowns! My favorite part has to do with the intense hatred the clowns harbor for mimes,(I mean, really, who needs 'em!). The fight scene in the park, with the shout "Learn to Talk", is priceless. The obvious discomfort when Shakes must pose as a mime to avoid arrest is also a blast! Over all, although somewhat dated in relevance, Shakes the Clown is a movie I would strongly recommend to anyone who,you know, hates clowns. And anyone else over 14!

Aunt Esther from Sanford & Son talks about her ... (It's like peanut butter, to hear her tell it.) with Milton Berle. Robin Williams is a mime instructor. Some of the best one-liners you'll ever see in a movie, not to mention Adam Sandler, Bobcat Goldthwait, Julie Brown, and even Florence Freakin' Hendersen! You remember that scene from Uncle Buck where he punches the party clown in the nose? ("...get in your mouse, and get the hell out of here!") This movie takes off from there. There's even a similar scene where Tim Kazurinski (another SNL alum) isn't as bold with our hero. This ain't a thinkin' man's movie. It ain't _any_ kind of womens' movie. Have a beer, have some buddies over (stay away from the "white, powdery beef"), and have some yucks. This movie is truly a classic.