Connect with us
Klovn: The Movie
Image: Drafthouse Films

Film

Klovn Scandinavian-style Black Comedy

Every child needs a role model.

For many, child-rearing is a terrifying prospect. The idea that some other being manifests themselves and usurps one’s position as the most important being in one’s own life can be troubling, particularly if one’s self-actualization is rather stunted. So it’s with no surprise that Frank (Frank Hvam) is less than thrilled when, while attending his friend’s wedding, he discovers that his wife (Mia Lynhe) is pregnant. She’s less than thrilled, too, since Frank has proven himself to be less than father material, and she’s weighing the possibility of terminating the unborn child. Frank is naturally incensed, and seeks to prove his worthiness as a father by essentially abducting young Bo (Marcuz Jess Petersen) and taking him along on a camping trip with best buddy Casper (Casper Christensen), who has considerably more base intentions for said trip, which he terms the “Tour de Pussy.”

Though derived from a popular Danish TV series, Clown: The Movie is really a collision between three recent strains of popular comedy: first and foremost, the “comedy of embarrassment,” whose popularity can be traced back to the twin influences of the UK Office and Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm; second, the Apatow brand of “manchild” comedies, in which men in their 30s (or older) behave like teenagers until they’re forced to mature; and third, the debauched bro humor of The Hangover (from which it borrows a final-scene photo reel of horror).

Klovn: The Movie (2010)
Image: Drafthouse Films

Klovn‘s derivative nature both helps and hurts. It borrows from Curb the setup-payoff joke structure, in that every single character detail and comic possibility becomes a Chekov’s Gun, waiting to be deployed for maximum effectiveness. That renders much of the proceedings predictable (no prizes for guessing where things are headed when Frank has to confront a gang of young bullies, or when they come upon a too-helpful female owner of a pancake house), but occasionally the results are satisfying enough to validate the approach. The “men behaving badly” scenario also feels somewhat played out at this point, but Christensen and Hvam, who co-wrote the film in addition to starring, make risqué character decisions that are too far afield for any North American comedy, particularly whenever children and sex are involved. (Admittedly, the outrageousness peaks early with a “pearl necklace” gag.) The film also has fun upending the “gay panic” nature of male-oriented comedy, especially in the scenes between Casper and an understandably protective camp counselor.

For all the gag-reflex humor, though, there’s an underlying conservatism to Klovn that again recalls Apatow: despite Frank and Casper’s horrible acts, you never get the sense they’re bound for anything but redemption, and indeed the three-act structure feels all too carefully delineated. Perhaps it’s the absence of the familiarity having seen the series might provide, but the viewer has no reason to desire a happy ending for these misfits other than to suit the contours of the genre, making the last 20 minutes feel incredibly contrived. Until then, though, Klovn remains amusing enough to please most fans of gleefully impolite humor.

Simon Howell

Now Streaming

Written By

Simon is a sometimes writer and podcaster living in Toronto.

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Facebook

Trending

Falling-Down film review Falling-Down film review

Joel Schumacher’s Falling Down Poses Some Serious Questions

Film

The Big Lebowski The Big Lebowski

25 Years Later: Aggression Will Not Stand in The Big Lebowski

Film

The Academy Awards: The Best Picture Losers The Academy Awards: The Best Picture Losers

50 Best Movies That Did Not Win Best Picture at the Oscars

Film

The Academy Awards: The Best Picture Losers The Academy Awards: The Best Picture Losers

50 Best Movies to not Win Best Picture at the Oscars

Film

Blueback film review Blueback film review

Blueback Doesn’t Dive Deep Enough

Film

Pathaan Pathaan

Pathaan Completes the Westernization of Bollywood

Culture

The Last of Us Left Behind The Last of Us Left Behind

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye on The Last of Us “Left Behind”

TV

The Last of Us Look for the Light The Last of Us Look for the Light

The Last of Us Season One Ends the Only Way It Knows How with “Look for the Light”

TV

Ray Liotta’s 10 best movie roles Ray Liotta’s 10 best movie roles

As He Stars in Cocaine Bear, Remembering Ray Liotta’s 10 Best Movie Roles 

Film

CREED III review CREED III review

Creed III is a Triumphant Directorial Debut for Michael B. Jordan

Film

Brother movie review Brother movie review

Brother is a Well-acted but Overwrought Account of 1990s Scarborough

Film

The Mandalorian Season 2 Phenomenally Flaunts The Potential of Storytelling With Star Wars The Mandalorian Season 2 Phenomenally Flaunts The Potential of Storytelling With Star Wars

The Mandalorian Starts Season 3 with a Good Episode but an Okay Premiere in “The Apostate”

Culture

The Last of Us When We Are in Need The Last of Us When We Are in Need

Everyone’s a Monster In The Last of Us “When We Are in Need”

TV

Inside Movie Review Inside Movie Review

Being Trapped Inside with Willem Dafoe’s Art Thief is (Mostly) Great

Film

Cocaine Bear is Over-the-Top, Ridiculous Fun 

Film

The Mandalorian: Grogu’s Most Adorable Moments The Mandalorian: Grogu’s Most Adorable Moments

The Mandalorian: Grogu’s Most Adorable Moments

Culture

Connect