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Canwest News Service
PUNCHING THE CLOWN
Starring Henry Phillips, Ellen Ratner, Wade Kelley, Matt Walker, Guilford Adams and Audrey Siegel.
Directed by Gregori Viens Rating: Not rated Advisory: Not rated
Running time: 90 minutes
Rating 3
Skewering the oily flesh-eaters of Los Angeles may be an entry-level exercise in social satire, but that doesn't mean rank amateurs can't lift a middle finger to the glitterati and come out a comic winner.
Apparently, watching vapid people panic, flail and feign death in the shallow end can be awfully amusing, and that's exactly what Punching the Clown finds at the bottom of the pool alongside the used Band-Aid swirling at the drain.
Picking up the story through an interview with a late-night disc jockey who takes us through the sad-luck tale of Henry Phillips, a Midwestern troubadour who is flattened by the star-making steamroller, Punching the Clown revolves around the myriad miscommunications that can make, or break, a rising talent.
When Henry arrives in Los Angeles, he finds a home with his brother — an aspiring actor who takes jobs as a kids' birthday party Batman (or "batlike superhero" who does not have the legal right to call himself Batman). It's an uncomfortable place to land, but there's something about the placid Henry that takes everything in stride, no matter how ugly the ride — or the travelling companions.
Hoping to make a living singing his unique brand of folk songs, Henry finds work in a coffee house — where he's paid nothing, but builds his resume in preparation for his big break.
Henry is not an easy sell. His songs are obtuse and his sense of humour taps the absurd, which means he's the antithesis of what succeeds in show business. Over the course of the movie, we're given his artistic foil — Stupid Joe, a shock comedian with the winning catchphrase "Let's get guitarded!" Stupid Joe is a huge success, which only makes Henry's failures all the more acute.
He just can't play the game, and that's a significant liability for nice people. Henry is erroneously labelled a neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier as a result of asking an innocent question, and from that point on, the downward spiral picks up momentum– pulling Henry down in concentric circles, ever closer to complete career collapse.
Because the whole movie hinges on bad things happening to a good person, there are parts of Punching the Clown that would seem too unfair or unjust to really laugh at, but that's where Phillips's laid-back screen presence works a little wonder: we can sympathize with the guy, and we care what happens to him, but he's so unfazed by his bad luck, we can watch his life crash and burn without feeling the least bit guilty. Besides, it's fun watching an insightful smear job of Hollywood parties and this movie may well contain the best five minutes of full-schmooze immersion as everyone at the party snubs one person to suck up to another.
Not only is the scene completely accurate, it takes a drum stick to the hollow heads in attendance and creates snappy beats from the resonant nothingness.
Coupled with sharp commentary and a dry delivery, the mood and content come together for a short-lived, but entirely chuckle-worthy distraction that kicks Hollywood in its oversized can.
