Klown is a real oddity. It’s inspired by a Danish sitcom that is widely popular (in Denmark…).  Obviously I haven’t seen the original show, and nor would have many people who are watching the film in the English-speaking world. The disc includes an episode from the series, however, which will give you a flavour. It was co-written by Lars Von Trier, who was also a big influence on the film, even though it may not be obvious. 

 

The whole thing plays a lot like an intelligent version of The Hangover or any of those “guys behaving badly” gross-out comedies. The two leads, Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen, play versions of themselves. They are kind of the Danish Vic & Bob, and actually host the Danish version of Shooting Stars. Frank and Casper are planning a “Tour de pussy,” which is an annual event for these guys, but Frank has to prove his parental skills so he takes his awkward overweight nephew with him. As you can imagine, it doesn’t quite go to plan. 

 

The comedy is totally crass and crude, but it’s so outrageous that it’s pretty hilarious and never outstays its welcome, which these kinds of films often do. The whole thing is over in 89 minutes, with a great twist that ends the film.

 

Some of the gags are real shockers, and they come through thick and fast. It has elements of some of the comedies of Lars Von Trier, which isn’t unsurprising. because the Danes have a real off-kilter sense of humour (and Lars isn’t so far up his own ass that he can’t appreciate crude humour in his films.)

 

The whole thing could’ve been a real big sexist piece of shit, and the characters certainly are despicable, but it has a surprising amount of heart. You actually end up caring for these guys, even though they are real knobs in every way, including the relationship they have with the boy. It’s one of the more vulgar comedies I’ve seen in a long time—but that’s a compliment, of course. 

 

The disc includes the usual stuff, like a commentary, interviews, deleted scenes, outtakes and the van Trier-penned episode mentioned earlier. The release is finished with a booklet full of writing on the film by Sergui Angelini.

★★★★

Ian Schultz

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