The United States of Insanity

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.

The film provides an in depth look into not only the Insane Clown Posse, but the loyal fan group, The Juggalos. It takes a deep dive into the life of the members, from childhood through the inception of their musical personas - Violent J, and Shaggy 2 Dope.

Normally, I'd do a review or critique using the sandwich method (starting with what I liked, then going into what I think could have been better, then wrapping it up with more positives) but this film, I feel needs to start with the negatives, and after I explain them, it'll be more obvious why I chose to go this route.

I will be direct in saying that this movie is an easy 8/10. It's absolutely hilarious, and entertaining throughout, however the two major issues and things that keep it from being a 10/10 for me come from the inconsistency in story telling, and what feels like a lack of clear understanding (with the filmmakers) on what the documentary is about.

The film jumps around quite a bit, and at times the segments almost feel disconnected from one another. What I mean is that we'll be following ICP as they talk about where they grew up, and then it'll switch to the Juggalos talking about their experiences with law enforcement, then it'll talk about The Gathering of the Juggalos, and then more stories about Juggalos, and then more backstory on the musicians. The story is weaved together like a pair of shoelaces, which can be interesting, but it also takes away from the narrative at times.

The other thing that I feel hurts this film is that it seems like the filmmakers were unsure of what they wanted to focus on in the film. We often jump between ICP as the focal point, to the FBI labeling Juggalos as a gang as the focal point, to Juggalos and The Gathering as the focal point. Now, I've seen plenty of documentaries in my life, and understand that it's important to have individual stories and arcs within the main blanket story, however, this film feels like it's missing that main blanket, and instead wants all of these stories to be the main story. The film is marketed as ICP/Juggalos v The FBI, yet I'd say only 35 - 40 minutes of the almost 2 hour run time seems to focus on that, with the rest being mainly about ICP and the world they built. This isn't a massive issue, as without ICP there are no Juggalos, and vice versa.

Now, with the two negatives out of the way, I can jump into what I loved about the film.

The filmmakers did something that seems to be difficult to do (at least from what I've seen in some recent documentaries) and that is to take both sides of the argument into consideration and present facts for both sides to the viewer. They present all information in an unbiased way, allowing people from all parties to express their thoughts, feelings, opinions, and data without criticism. It never blatantly tells the audience, "These people are clearly wrong" or "These people are clearly right" but rather let's the audience decide for themselves.

Another thing I loved in the film is the perfectly placed humor. With documentaries, it's imperative to understand that the grey area is key, and extremes on either side can cause the audience to lose confidence in the story teller. This is especially true when dealing with subject matter that is serious - such as people's lives being ruined by law enforcement over what t-shirt they were wearing, or band they were listening to at the wrong place/time. This film understands how absurd the idea of being considered a criminal over listening to the music of two guys who paint themselves up like clowns and sing about killing pedophiles and domestic abusers is, and it shows that understanding through very subtle insertions of humor. A funny news headline here, old interview clip there, or perfectly placed punchline to a serious segment. For instance, there is a scene where a woman is discussing her husband - a longtime fan of ICP - and how he's serving life in prison. She smiles and explains that she brought his mugshot to a meet and greet to have signed by the band. The camera focuses on the photo long enough for the audience to process the absurdity of the scene, and soak in the hilarity of it all. A woman bringing her husbands mugshot to his favorite band to get signed. Not only is the strangeness of the request to have a mugshot signed comedic, but what the members of the group say to the woman, and her husband (who she calls during the signing) during it, is the icing on the comedic cake. These types of scenes are sprinkled perfectly throughout the film, and add the perfect level of humor to an otherwise serious documentary.

The last point I'd like to make is how deeply intriguing the film is, along with the message of, "If it can happen to them, it can happen to you." This is not a film FOR Juggalos, but rather a film ABOUT Juggalos, and the acceptance and understanding that they lack from most of society. It's insane to think that the government can deem someone as dangerous or a criminal based on who their favorite band is. And it makes you take a step back and really think about a question that pops up frequently in the film, "If Juggalos can be considered a gang by the FBI for being fans of ICP, then what else can the FBI claim people are gang members for?" We watch and learn about how a group of people's rights are imposed upon based on something as simple as musical preferences, and it leaves the audience pondering. Do a few bad apples spoil the bunch? Can we make a judgment based solely on the actions of a few outliers? What if it was you?

I loved every moment of this film, and was entertained throughout. It was engaging, informative, and intriguing from start to finish.

(A very strong) 8/10

Be sure to stay after the credits if you're a fan of ICP, as there is about 15 minutes of bonus live footage.

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.

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.