Shakes the Clown

R

Released Mar 13, 1992

1 hr. 23 min.

Comedy

List

43%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

The all-clown town of Palukaville provides a colorful backdrop for this tale of an alcoholic funnyman framed for murder.

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Critics Consensus

Shakes the Clown has a handful of memorable moments, but they're scattered in a movie whose best ideas were left undeveloped on their way to the screen.

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Josh W

One of the greatest cult films ever, and it's sad the rating it has on this website.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/29/23

Full Review

Seventh S

Honestly, it's one of my favorite movies from my youth. Bobcat Goldthwaite accurately portrayed alcohol dependency and in true comedic genius style, wove it's tragedy into a comedy. Yes, there are memorable 'moments' of humor, but try and explain or describe the storyline of this movie to someone and you will see how funny it really is. I think too many people get lost in the details to understand the big picture is really outstandingly funny. It's truly a gem...

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/12/23

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Jeffrey P

Starts with some potential, a down on his luck clown ala the ‘Bad Santa' trope, but quickly goes off the rails as an entire collective of drunken abusive clowns are introduced. You can't expect anything going into a movie like this so it's not likely to leave you disappointed, just full of regret. Aside from the tragic and depressing story of an alcoholic clown, what I believe is supposed to be the plot takes almost an hour to set up… in an 86-minute movie. Ironically, it gets worse and becomes less interesting once the plot develops. Still, there are a lot of cameos from comedians that combine to almost keep this afloat, though not all recognizable as everyone is in clown make-up throughout.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/12/23

Full Review

espanolo t

Vi esta película cuando tenia 13 anos. Mi cita favorita fue "Tengo ese viejo cono de mantequilla de maní"

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

kevin c

Bobcat Goldthwaite stars and directs this flick about the clown community. He plays Shakes, who is great at entertaining the kids at birthday parties but the rest of the time is a stinking drunk. Disappointed that he didn't get the lucrative tv clown job replacing a retiring clown he goes on a bender. When he awakens he is accused of murder and must clear his name. This is mostly sad with a few chuckles mostly from a cameo from Robin Williams. Tom Kenney plays his clown nemesis. Adam Sandler plays one of his clown colleagues.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

josh m

I don't know why but I liked this movie. Overall it wasn't bad and there are moments that are really funny and there are people like Robin Williams and Adam Sandler in it which was strange to see. For being just a goofy movie it was pretty good and worth a watch at least once.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Bobcat Goldthwait

Director

Bobcat Goldthwait

Shakes the Clown

Julie Brown

Judy

Tom Kenny

Binky the Clown

Blake Clark

Stenchy the Clown

Adam Sandler

Dink the Clown

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Basically a redneck drive-in movie in style and delivery.

May 22, 2008

Full Review

Marc Savlov

Austin Chronicle

A wonderfully weird two hours.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

The movie plays like a series of scene outlines -- ideas for how the movie should progress -- that needed more writing and revision before the actors were called in.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Matthew Rozsa

matthewrozsa.com

It's a very dialogue centric movie, characteristic of other great comedies from the'90s indie circuit.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jun 28, 2020

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Bobcat Goldthwait's first (and worst) cinematic outing...

Rated: 1/4

Nov 18, 2016

Full Review

Tim Brayton

Antagony & Ecstasy

Clearly achieves what Goldthwait wanted it to, and the unapologetic bluntness of it is itself worthy of praise, however awkward and squeamish.

Rated: 7/10

Jun 5, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

The all-clown town of Palukaville provides a colorful backdrop for this tale of an alcoholic funnyman framed for murder.

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Executive Producer: Miles Copeland, Barry Krost, Harold Welb
Screenwriter: Bobcat Goldthwait
Distributor: IRS Media
Production Co: IRS Media
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 13, 1992, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.5K
Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround, Stereo

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