Clutch

Reminiscent of the best episodes of the Littlest Hobo, Clutch successfully mixes excitement with moments of deep emotion. Tom Green's portrayal of a retard had me both wetting my pants with laughter and slashing at my wrists in sadness.

I think it is about time the people of Pembroke, Ontario honor Mr. Green with his own "swallow" sign. When I follow the swallow to downtown Pembroke, I want the swallows to show me where Tom was born.

Being a fan of David Hewlett's work, I recently watched CLUTCH on cable. I have to confess that, during the first ten minutes or so, I didn't think it was going to be very good and was almost ready to bail out. While most people would do just that, fans of the offbeat should stay with it. The latter will enjoy this above average effort.

CLUTCH is sort of an absurdist black comedy, full of strange coincidence and surreal touches, with a supernatural-fantasy element thrown in. Hewlett gives another interesting performance as an amateur thief who gets in over his head when he is sent to steal a mysterious antique book. He bungles the job and sets in motion a series of bizarre situations involving a cast of quirky characters.

Tanya Allen is also very good as a beautiful garage mechanic. She and Hewlett make an interesting screen duo, and their unconventional relationship, as well as the dark humor, all work surprisingly well.

However, no one should want to see CLUTCH, or stay away from it, because Tom Green is in the cast. His scene lasts about thirty seconds at the most. I guess he was supposed to be funny, but he makes little impression and displays even less talent. No surprise there.

Not the most intellectually stimulating, but worth viewing if you felt positively about films like "Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", and to a lesser degree, "Repo Man" (especially if you resonate with the "more you drive-the less intelligent you really are" mantra, as practiced by Tanya Allen).

Additionally the soundtrack is worth further inspection.

On to the film: Dark humor, but not black.

Though pulling for the underdog is not a new theme, some of the appeal of this movie is that it leaves the viewer with genuine empathy for "the loser". The comedy of the film is well represented by the scene in which David Hewlett's character is trying to present to Tanya Allen's character how much of a failure/loser he is- sold very subtly, it is not an obvious exercise in reverse psychology, and very well done.

Simple violence can be a very effective foil, and was used magnificently to contrast the mystical altruism provided by the antique book.

All in all the film was well done; solid performances all the way around, but the charm of the film is that it makes you think, while it lets you just feel.

I liked it, and look forward to more good things from Chris Grismer

Tom Green's performance as the "Computer Gimp" was the most convincing role he has ever portrayed. I found myself struggling to remember that it was in fact, only acting. I only wish he had more chances to play clinical retards like this.

The Humpliks aren't kissing ass! Tom was pretty cool after all but the movie itself was kinda stupid. Tom Green fans will enjoy it but if you don't you'll hate this. One could compare him to a Harland Williams with a major sugar-rush and a very tight jock strap.