Shakes the Clown (1991)

the audience applauded

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

I sat down to watch "Shakes the Clown" because Bobcat Goldthwait was in it, and I had no idea that I was in for a movie with this many famous people in it. I had not anticipated that at all.The story is about Shakes, a clown with a love of drinking. He is told to get his act together or his will be fired, when he finds himself framed for a murder.Despite having so many talented names on the cast list, then I was not even remotely entertained by this movie, much less brought to laughs. I really didn't laugh a single time, truth be told.Perhaps I didn't get the symbolism between the alcoholism and the imagery of clowns. But, for me, it just didn't mix well together, much less make for an entertaining movie."Shakes the Clown" wasn't particularly my type of movie, and thus I think the movie is worth a 3 out of 10 stars.

I downloaded this movie years after putting it on my watchlist because I had seen it mentioned in one of those Men's Journal "100 Movies Every Guy Should See" lists. In the end, its presence on a list like that might be appropriate, but don't reshuffle your own watchlist to make room for it.The cast is actually terrific. Bobcat Goldthwait in a forgettable lead role still filled the role nicely, and with such a star-studded supporting crew, the cast is actually the most memorable thing about this movie. Adam Sandler and Blake Clark have major roles throughout, which was no doubt a fertile time for the two to bounce ideas off one another, thus sparking a screen relationship that would help fuel Sandler's meteoric rise through 1990s comedy. Kathy Griffin is the feminist friend of the lead actress, Julie Brown, who later played Ms. Stoeger in Clueless. Even Robin Williams made a cameo appearance as a catty mime instructor, surely offering at least a few laughs with his pre-GWH clown-like demeanor.Unfortunately, this semi-Allstar cast was paired with terrible writers. Sure, there is the occasional line or two that elicit laughs from even the most lifeless of cynics, but the viewer can't help but follow a very contrived script throughout the movie, and only the body language of the actors themselves seems to save the screenplay from itself. Overall, simply by recognizing the significance of the cast, all together as early as 1991, is enough to take from this movie what it has to offer most. I can't recommend making time for it, but if someone brings it over and you're in an agreeable mood, put it in and enjoy a lot of hidden humor (background gags and subtle one-liners) in this alcoholic cult-classic.

First the only good news about "Shakes the Clown" is that the clown makeup and neon-type lighting provides an interesting setting. Now the bad. Both Adam Sandler and Robin Williams are totally wasted, smothered by Goldthwait's slapstick, gross-out, outrageously non-funny script. Clowns are supposed to be funny, therefore a movie about clowns should be downright hilarious. Well, car chases, puke jokes, drunken clowns, and various other nonsense turns what could have been a ground breaking black comedy into the disaster it is. Do not buy or rent this expecting black comedy similar to the brilliant "Bad Santa", because you will be sadly disappointed. I know I was. - MERK

This movie won't win any technical awards, but if you like dark comedies (this film makes "Barton Fink" look light and breezy at times), this is the movie for you. At times uproariously funny, the poignant parts are luckily kept to a minimum, and there are gritty moments as well. Whether you're a rodeo clown, party clown, or even a lowly mime, this is a movie chock full of lines you'll find yourself repeating in all the most inappropriate occasions. Besides--didn't you kind of suspect that all clowns were miserable deep down, and drunk constantly? Just beware--this is not a kids' film by any stretch of the imagination, and some of the scenes of Shakes dealing with his alcoholism are stomach-churning, but it provides the backdrop for some serious comedic writing unmatched by virtually every other film out there.