Shakes is, well, a clown, but he’s not your regular happy-happy-joy-joy clown. Alcoholic and full of anger, it’s a wonder why people hire him for their kid’s birthday party. Maybe it’s because behind the foul language and the puking, he’s a darn good clown! You gotta admit that’s an original and appealing premise. Unfortunately, it’s so badly developed. The film was written and directed by its star, Bobcat Goldthwait, probably best known for his role in the “Police Academy” series. The guy can be extremely funny (I love his voice), but oddly, the film doesn’t showcases his talent much. There’s one joke in the film: Goldthwait shows him or some other shouting “Fuck!”, snorting coke or puking, and you’re supposed to laugh because it’s a clown doing it. Har, har.
I’m sorry, but that can be amusing the first few times, but that ain’t enough to fill an 87 minute film. It’s kinda like if “Leaving Las Vegas”‘s Ben was a clown. It’s weird, but it’s not really funny. The film also stars Adam Sandler as another clown, but he’s just whining when Shakes screws up. There are some funny bits in the film, but not much. I like the ridiculous conversations between the two cops, and I dig when the clowns go mime bashing! Actually, the film’s best scene might be the one at mime school, with Robin Williams as the teacher. I don’t know, but mimes are much more laughable than clowns. So, “Shakes the Clown” will probably won’t make you laugh much, but it’s still interesting if just to watch Goldwaith and Sandler messing around as clowns.