The United States of Insanity

Too long, too repetitive.. and it didn't end the way I expected. To me, the climax, which in all fairness they couldn't control, wasn't there. They tried for a victorious ending, but it didn't match the hype they had set up, so it was anticlimactic. For that reason, the rest of the movie didn't hold up. This should have been 20-30 minutes shorter. 1.40 hours was too long. Once I got to know who they were they kept stretching that part longer and longer. There wasn't enough drama to justify the length. This should have been done as a vice short subject film, not a feature-length film.

I had a young friend who absolutely adored this group and I never cared to explore why -- the music isn't my cup of Faygo, shall we say. Still, I was aware of the stir the ICP created in the zeitgeist and how loyal their fans were, so was curious to know more. This documentary touched on enough aspects of the ICP experience for me to feel like I understand why they're so meaningful to so many. We meet the men behind the paint, we meet their Juggalo friends and we learn something of the history of the band and their legal troubles. Amazing how seriously government can take what is basically Grand Guignol theater with soda substituting for blood and read it so wrong. . Every musical group should have fans as passionate as Juggalos and obviously the FBI has NO sense of humor and didn't grow up listening to Alice Cooper.

Ranks with the worst documentaries ever made. If you enjoy spending time in the company of bloated, foul-mouthed idiots in greasy-looking clown makeup as they talk about themselves ad nauseum, don't miss this disasterpiece. The best sequences are when the clowns talk about their "art", which basically consists of horrendously bad rapping, dropping F-bombs every few seconds, and inciting their fan base of Juggalos to violence. Saints preserve us.

While this is a decent look at a band's struggle to fight the FBI calling its fans gang members, it had a lot more of the Insane Clown Posse's backstories than I would have thought. This is much more of a look at the entire history of ICP than it is about their lawsuits to have their fans taken off the gang list. If you are into the Clowns or would like to know more about them, this is an interesting movie. If you already know a lot about J and 2 Dope, then you won't find much to add to your knowledge base.

I am not a Juggalo. I don't think I have heard an ICP song prior to watching this movie. I was only vaguely aware of the group existing because of the legal story that the film is centered around. On the cultural front the film didn't do much to endear me to the ICP's body of work. They truly are a terrible rap duo. However, the duo and their fans seem like good bros and people. This film captures the subculture in a through and entertaining way; a bit like a mockumentary this present a bunch of colorful and fun characters to follow around. Best of all behind the make-up and the Juggalo-ness everyone seems like real people even if you know weird.

On the legal side of story I found the film entirely convincing that the FBI is simply wrong to label Juggalos as a gang. This is true even after I looked into the matter from other sources. The label is a byproduct of the FBI's far too expansive definition of gang and from actual gangs coopting Juggalo iconography, i.e. Hatchet man. It would be like labeling Cubs fans a gang just because a Chicago gang all wore Cubs stuff. (This is something that happens with sports teams a lot apparently)

I am sure Juggalos will like the film. But I think anyone concerned with 1st amendment issues and gov't overreach will like this film.

The film will not win ICP any new fans.