Klovn: The Movie

An absolute fun and cathartic movie for a December night, probably one of the most hilarious movies I have ever seen. A great extension to the TV sitcom, with all the familiar and delicious awkwardness of Frank. His honesty still doesn't serve him a good dish, while his little tricks lock him down in the puddle even more. Casper, ever the philanderer, takes things up even another notch in his shameless tour de F*** this time. Things are surprisingly wild and boundless in this picture, yet the notion of Frank's fatherly responsibility warms hearts and wets eyes. Short yet characteristic cameo appearances by many Danish entertainers, with Iben and Mia still being lovely. Parents, be aware of the nudities and explicit sex scenes; non-parents, enjoy the bluntness of yet another one of Frank and Casper's great adventure.

Having watched and re-watched this film many times and consistently found it hilarious, I can only give it a 10 out of 10. Yes, it is extremely rude, and if you are the sort of person who gets offended, then, yes, you WILL get offended. Yes, it does walk an extremely fine line, but in my opinion it walks that line successfully. No, you are not supposed to admire Casper and Frank, and their adolescent boy-man personas, and the way they trample all over moral and social taboos. But perhaps you will recognize a bit of yourself in them (a bit that, as an adult, you should be keeping deeply repressed!!!).

After seeing the film, i was so excited to find out that there were 60 episodes of the TV show to watch too (currently available on HULU). All are just as good as the movie. One thing in the movie that didn't come across as well as in the TV show is the personalities of Casper & Frank's partners Mia & Iben. They really do a lot to hold the show together, and it's men's relationships with the women that really takes they show to another level beyond what was done in Seinfeld & Curb Your Enthusiasm -- though Klovn definitely owes those shows a debt. My wife definitely loves the TV show, because of the women, but was less enamored with the movie, where the women play a much smaller role.

Will it work in America? No, Not on as large a scale scale as it should. The humor is far to terrifying for your average, fearful yank. I love that Danny McBride is going to attempt a re-make, and after Eastbound & Down he might be the only man that could & even he will have to dumb it down. On the whole, I am much more excited about the original duo's Klovn Forever, due out in Sept 2015.

Ever since the sexual revolution, Danish culture has been one of the most liberal in the world, and the guys behind Klovn: The Movie, Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen, certainly demonstrate their lack of inhibition. Klovn is like Curb Your Enthusiasm plus various intoxicants, and the result is just as funny and entertaining as it is irrelevant and morally dubious. However, the latter quality is one of the great privileges and obligations of comedy, and while Christensen/Hvam may not have any agenda as such, Klovn certainly will stir up some opinions and free the viewer from the Hollywoodized comedy prison of recent years. And if you're not easily exhausted by embarrassments and complications, you'll have plenty of fun all the way through.

There are various coming of age comedy road trip movies such as the Road Trip, Hangover, Euro trip, National Lampoons where the characters stumble and tumble through various misfortunes and accidents to ultimately form a bond that lasts for the life time. And then there is this. Frank is an average guy with good intent who is usually misunderstood and finds himself in circumstances that are inexplicable to others. Because of this Franks pregnant girlfriend is in dilemma of whether to have his kid or not. To prove he is capable of fatherhood Frank abruptly takes his girlfriends nephew Bo on a canoe trip that he had planned with his licentious best friend Casper. The problem is that Casper had planned this trip as a masquerade for his debaucheries, and is forced to take Bo along the trip to allay his girlfriends suspicions. Whatensues next is a series of absurd circumstances due to the crossing of paths between Franks attempt to discover fatherhood through Bo,and Caspers fervent desire to satisfy his lewdness.

Clown is a dark comedy that has its heartwarming moments. It derives its hilariousness based on the misfortune and absurdity of its characters, especially Frank and Casper. If you think that a movie should leave some lines untouched no matter how hilarious the context maybe then you shouldn't watch it. Its a very difficult movie to recommend or watch with someone,especially in America. To put it in some perspective, if you take a movie like "Big Daddy" and turn it to a Mature Audience (MA) dark comedy road trip movie,then you will get something remotely close to Klown. So,if you think that comedy can cross lines based on the context, are willing to sit through some moments that might disgust one part of you and make the other half snigger, you should watch Klown.

The film is about Frank; a gullible and dim man who is trying to prove to his girlfriend that he has what it takes to parent a child. A series of events unfold and Frank ends up looking after a 12 year old boy and taking him on a "lads camping holiday". He sees this as his chance to shine and to give the boy a fantastic father like bonding holiday. However there is a festival on and a college trip full of older female students so the mans friend Casper has other ideas. This is a lads break and he will stop at nothing to enjoy it.

As with most outrageously funny comedies it pushes what is acceptable and what is not to the very limit. I wont give any of the key scenes away as it would spoil the film but I will say it's is very similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm in terms of it's comic timing and style - although it steps a lot further over "the fine line" of what is "acceptable".

In terms of story it's non existent and the characters are so over the top you can't really care or feel for any for them in any way. The handful of laugh out loud scenes and dialog totally make up for it and the actors deliver them perfectly.