Director/producer Andrew Jarecki was in the process of making a documentary about people who work as children's birthday party clowns in New York which led to the discovery of David Friedman's story. David Friedman was considered the most successful of the city's party clowns. The resulting clown documentary, Just a Clown (2004), is included as an extra on the DVD for this movie.
Some victims of the Friedmans suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following the release and complained in publications about their misrepresentation in the film.
The movie caused some theatre patrons to remain in their seats to argue the innocence of Arnold and Jesse Friedman. This caused theatre owners to complain to the films distributor, Magnolia Pictures.
The film sparked enough renewed interest in the case that Jesse Friedman mounted an appeal to his earlier conviction. While the appeal was denied, the Nassau County District Attorney agreed to re-examine the case and appoint a special review committee to evaluate any impropriety in the original case, including coercion of Friedman's original confession of guilt. The commitee later published a detailed report online. It comes to the conclusion, that this documentary is manipulative and misrepresents evidence. There is still no doubt that the convicted were guilty of their crimes. The report also questions the integrity of the director.
When videotaped in the park, Jesse is seen playing out the "Mr. Gumby Brain Specialist" sketch from episode 32 of Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969).