Shakes the Clown

Shakes the Clown
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBobcat Goldthwait
Written byBobcat Goldthwait
Produced byPaul Colichman
Ann Luly-Goldthwait
Starring
CinematographyBobby Bukowski
Elliot Davis
Edited byJ. Kathleen Gibson
Music byTom Scott
Distributed byIRS Media
Release dates
  • August 28, 1991 (1991-08-28) (Boston)
  • March 13, 1992 (1992-03-13) (US)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.4 million[1]
Box office$115,103[1]

Shakes the Clown is a 1991 American black comedy film, written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, who performs the title role. It also features Julie Brown, Blake Clark, Paul Dooley, Kathy Griffin, Florence Henderson, Tom Kenny, Adam Sandler, Scott Herriott, LaWanda Page, Jack Gallagher, and a cameo by Robin Williams as Mime Jerry using the pseudonym "Marty Fromage".

The film is a satire of performance art and portrays different communities of clowns and other performers as clannish, rivalrous subcultures obsessed with precedence and status. Goldthwait made the film as a satire of the dysfunctional standup comedy circuit at the time he was first starting out as an entertainer.[2] When the film was first released, it was widely panned, but in recent years, reaction has become more favorable, largely due to how the film handled the serious topic of alcoholism. Shakes the Clown has since become a cult classic.[3][4]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference mojo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Rabin, Nathan (August 20, 2009). "Interview: Bobcat Goldthwait". The A.V. Club. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  3. ^ "Shakes the Clown". Barnes & Noble.
  4. ^ Blazenhoff, Rusty (February 6, 2014). "Live reading of 'Shakes the Clown' with original cast members". blazenfluff.com.