Shakes the Clown

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Shakes the Clown
File:Shakes the Clown.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait
Produced by Paul Colichman
Ann Luly-Goldthwait
Written by Bobcat Goldthwait
Starring Bobcat Goldthwait
Julie Brown
Tom Kenny
Blake Clark
Adam Sandler
Robin Williams
Music by Tom Scott
Cinematography Bobby Bukowski
Elliot Davis
Edited by J. Kathleen Gibson
Distributed by IRS Media (Theatrical)
Columbia-TriStar Home Video (Home Video)
Release dates
 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • August 28, 1991 (1991-08-28)
(Boston Film Festival)
<templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • March 13, 1992 (1992-03-13)
(US)
Running time
 87 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $1.4 million[1]

Shakes the Clown is a 1991 American black comedy film[2] directed and written by Bobcat Goldthwait, who performs the title role. It also features Julie Brown, Blake Clark, Paul Dooley, Kathy Griffin, Florence Henderson, Tom Kenny, Adam Sandler, Scott Herriott, LaWanda Page, Jack Gallagher, and a cameo by Robin Williams as Mime Jerry (using the pseudonym "Marty Fromage", an homage to an earlier film they worked in together called Tapeheads in which Goldthwait used the pseudonym "Jack Cheese").

The movie is a dark comedy about a birthday-party clown (Goldthwait) in the grip of depression and alcoholism, who is framed for murder. Different communities of clowns, mimes and other performers are depicted as clannish, rivalrous subcultures obsessed with precedence and status. This was Goldthwait's bitter satire of the dysfunctional standup comedy circuit he knew as a performer.[3]

Cast

Reception

Shakes the Clown was not a financial success, earning only about $115,000 in ticket sales against an estimated budget of $1.4 million.[4]

Critical reaction to the movie was mixed: Leonard Maltin gave it his lowest rating, while Betsy Sherman of The Boston Globe called it "the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies".[5] Roger Ebert gave Shakes 2-out-of-4 stars, writing that while some isolated scenes were "very funny" the plot was scattered and the performances often seemed under-rehearsed.[6] As of mid-2011, the movie has a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews.[7]

In an interview with Conan O'Brien, Goldthwait revealed that no less than Martin Scorsese had defended the movie from detractors. When a film critic derided the movie in order to make a point about good and bad movies, Scorsese revealed, "I like Shakes the Clown. Haven't you heard? It's the Citizen Kane of Alcoholic Clown Movies!" [8]

References

  1. ↑ Shakes the Clown (production budget), Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 02, 2015.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Shakes_the_Clown&oldid=646318"