Shakes the Clown (1991)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Bobcat Goldthwait

Writer (WGA):

Bobcat Goldthwait (written by)

Release Date:

13 March 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Loved by children. Desired by women. Adored by bartenders everywhere.

Plot:

Shakes plods about his duties as party clown, and uses all of his free time getting seriously drunk...

Plot Keywords:

Clown | Mime | Murder | Party | Clown Face

Cast

Bobcat Goldthwait	...	Shakes the Clown
Julie Brown	...	Judy
Bruce Baum	...	Ty the Rodeo Clown
Steve Bean	...	Beaten Mime in Park
Blake Clark	...	Stenchy the Clown
Eliza Coyle	...	Enthusiastic Mime
Paul Dooley	...	Owen Cheese
Gerald F. Edelstein	...	2nd Party Dad
Robin Williams	...	Mime Class Instructor (as Marty Fromage)
Jack Gallagher	...	Officer Crony
Paige Gosney	...	Billy
Kathy Griffin	...	Lucy
Florence Henderson	...	The Unknown Woman (Shakes One Night Stand)
Scott Herriott	...	Floor Director
Melissa Hurley	...	Producer at Big Time Carlson Circus

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug use.

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

IRS Media

Trivia:

Cameo: [Robin Williams]the mime instructor.

Quotes:

Dink: I asked her what time it was, she told me it was 7:30.
Stenchy: Oh, that's the cornerstone of a lasting relationship, what time it is?
Dink: Yes, yes. Because, first I asked her what time it is, right? Tomorrow I get to ask her the date, the day after that she's all over me. That's how it works, you play it slow.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.26)" (2009)

Much maligned in its time, but it aged like fine wine

A reviewer at the Boston Globe once called this, "The Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies." Given the number of points of comparison, who could argue?

I was reminded of this when I recently saw the 2003 movie, "Bad Santa" -- which was a similar one-joke, cynical comedy about an obnoxious alcoholic employed as a character meant to bring joy into the lives of children. (The name "Shakes" takes on a whole new meaning when the lead character attempts to detox.) If that one joke works, so goes the movie. So for comparison, I recently rented it not long after seeing "Bad Santa."

While Bad Santa received a great number of favorable critical reviews, this movie wasn't as fortunate. Upon further review, I have to say that this movie never got the credit it deserved.

Is it a great movie? Oh no. This is a movie that attempts to be so bad and foul, rolling in its own filth, that best targets people with the right, low-expectation mindset. But you could also say that of "There's Something About Mary."

It employs humor in some of the background scenes a la "Airplane." Its use of cheesy 70s actors is pure genius and helps complete the joke. (Nevermind Robin Williams, an early Adam Sandler, and the then-future voice of Sponge Bob Squarepants as the evil Binky the Clown.) If you can manage a smirk during John Waters' "Mondo Trasho," you'll likely find the movie to be quite funny overall.

It's Bobcat's opus, and its no wonder he never really made much of anything since; the same was true for Orson Wells after "Citizen Kane"...