Punching the Clown

This is my first review on IMDb: I just want to spread the word about this small treasure.

I saved it to my Netflix queue months ago after missing the theatrical release and hearing that Sarah Silverman loved it, and then I forgot all about it. It was finally released a couple of weeks ago.

What a treat. Watched it with my over-intellectual wife and our dumb 14 year old son. (I'm a dumb 54 year old who likes his beer cold and his beef and humor very rare). We all loved it.

Thought it was a Sundance winner at first, but I realize now it's a SLAMDANCE winner... (Note to independent film people: you have to come up with better festival names, it's confusing.) but who cares, whatever: It's a great film.

The story is very quirky and written with a sharp eye. The main characters and many of the supporting parts are vivid, hilarious and multi-dimensional. The songs are almost all original and cough-up-your-popcorn hysterical. The dialog is better than anything Woody Allen wrote in 25 years, or Judd Apatow... ever.

And if that wasn't enough, the movie is heartfelt and very human. The main character, Henry, plays a fictional version of himself and really draws you in. He's the funniest soft-spoken guy in the movies, take my word for it. The director co-wrote it and apparently had total control over every detail, casting, editing etc... real talent.

What else? Entertaining DVD bonuses. Deleted scenes. Running commentary with the director, the main actor and the actress who plays the manager. Ellen Ratner. Never heard of her, but apparently she was in Seinfeld. Anyway, she's wonderful. It's a no-name cast, but it's a solid, solid comedy.

Hope to see more from these guys.

This is a comedic masterpiece, in the sense that I was coughing up phlegm throughout the film. The Village Voice called this the "funniest movie ever made about trying to hold on to one's artistic integrity in an image-obsessed world." That's one way to put it, but the writer should have added "...oh, and I was laughing so hard I crapped my pants".

Henry Phillips is a great guitar picker and writes and sings like Roy Zimmerman, Bob Dylan, and Redd Foxx all rolled into one. OK, Loudon Wainwright too. The film depicts his plod through making a living as a...satiric folk singer-songwriter? That's exactly what he is, but the term has too many syllables for promoters and record company execs. Awkward encounters abound, some briefly tense, most hysterically funny. Ten stars.

I decided to give this film a whirl since it is streaming now on Netflix and it was the funnest time I have had watching a film in a while. We were laughing through so much of this movie. It is a very clever movie and so much of it rings true (if you are living in Los Angeles at least) This film does not really have a dull moment in it, and I enjoyed the pace as the movie moves along pretty quickly. I really became a fan of Henrys during this film as his comedy routines/songs in the movie were hilarious.There is a scene involving a Bagel misunderstanding that just killed me and it was the most clever scene i have seen in a long while. I really appreciated this movie and will watch it again definitely. I recommend watching this film to any and all fans of the comedy genre and then go tell a friend to do the same.

Here's a good one for you, if you want something new. Punching the Clown. Yes, the title means what you think it means, but that's not what the film is about... Well, yes, it IS about a clown of sorts (a comic) that rolls with the punches... but nothing immature here. Trust me, I know immature!

Anyway, I loved it. My favorite characters apart from Henry Phillips were his useless but loving manager (Ellen Ratner, she reminded me of my mom... Bonus: she does the commentary track with the director and the star. There are some very funny deleted scenes too.), his amazing failed actor brother (Matt Walker) and the extremely realistic record company guy (Guilford Adams). There are plenty of other great characters. Most of them are surprisingly true to life.

Without giving too much away, it's about a singer/comic who decides to move to LA because his luck dried up singing at one too many pizza joints on the road. In Hollywood, he gets a record deal a little too quickly, and then... life happens. The plot is fun (though not 100% fresh) but the way it plays out is about as fresh as anything I've seen on a screen, big or small. Henry's songs are hilarious, which is refreshing. Kind of like a young Tom Waits.

The movie is expertly directed, avoiding cliché's, keeping the story moving the entire time. It will suck you in. It won the audience award at the Slamdance film festival and a bunch of other awards, and I can see why. It's got a high rating (rotten tomatoes). It's got my vote too.

Solidly made film about the trials and humiliations of a likable comedic troubadour's misadventures in L.A. benefits strongly from an immensely likable lead (playing himself which is of course not nearly as easy as a person would think it to be) and likable oddball supporting characters that help give the film a strong sense of place as well. Both of the actors who play the talent agent and Phillips's brother are very well used, and very well written as well.

The film isn't perfect. The recurring plot line/joke of people in L.A. believing Phillips to be a neo nazi because of various misunderstandings and gossip spreading is spread awfully thin the longer it goes on (and i'm not sure how funny an idea it was to begin with quite honestly) and there are some jokes here and there that don't really land the way they should, (although there are plenty that do of course) Phillips himself gives such a strong sense of self--or more likely such a strong sense of insecurities facing a performer who can't seem to catch a break anywhere despite being really good on-stage...that none of the film's flaws really matter in the end--because they're mostly easy to overlook.

The only two things about the movie is that i didn't find it so flat out hilarious so much as generally enjoyable. The movie didn't have me in stitches even though some of the songs Phillips performs are very well done and very funny when you stop and think about it---(and catchy too actually now that i think about it...maybe its just me then) but the movie works more as a drama then anything else anyways. In that sense the narrative works wonderfully throughout---will the talent agent manage to help book him a solid gig? will the record label actually sign him? well anything even remotely positive happen to him in a way that he can enjoy it? these questions are actually very elegantly posed and the search for those answers generate a lot more suspense then you'd think they would. Its a well oiled screenplay which brings me to the other flaw--which is the ending. Film doesn't seem to have a third act beyond Phillips gets humiliated without ever really getting to right the record. I know the work--Phillip's work itself is what sets the record straight once and for all--that it gets played and people get to hear and get to see it in a film version is the real triumph--but its kind of a delayed gratification that you don't get to see Phillips get to really go after the guy (or guys) who sort of set him up for a fall. Its ultimately all right though because again the film's likability helps you overlook that in general.

That this film took a good decade (more or less) to create makes it even more of an achievement (the director who was a college friend of Phillios i believe raised the funds for production himself, and i know for a fact is distributing the movie himself from town to town as well--i know cause i saw him answering questions after the film at a regular screening of it as well--he literally just happened to be in the lobby because he is personally distributing the thing apparently.) In that sense its a true independent film and just the fact that it made it to a screen at all (especially in today's distribution climate) is miraculous all on its own.