At
last, the Dogme Hangover is here, via
Denmark, where they prefer their humor raw and black. Even if you wanted to, you are not likely to
see a raunchier film in an art-house theater this year than Mikkel Nørgaard’s good
taste defying Klown (totally nsfw trailer
here), which
opens this Friday in New York.
The
feature film follow-up to the successful Danish television show (just like Sex and the City, in this one limited
respect), Klown picks up with
comedians Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen, playing crude, self-absorbed
versions of themselves. The lads are
about to embark on a canoe trip that Christensen envisions as a smorgasbord of
cheap illicit sex, but Hvam has other issues on his mind.
After
doing something unspeakably heinous (think the “styling mousse” scene in Something About Mary raised to the power
of ten), Hvam’s pregnant girlfriend starts questioning his potential as a
father. Naturally, he responds by
kidnapping her socially awkward twelve year-old nephew Bo to burnish his
paternal cred on their tour of debauchery.
(Actually, Christensen uses a more colorful word than “debauchery,”
which you can probably guess.)
Looking
like a taller, slightly less pear-shaped Drew Carey, Hvam is basically a
decidedly blue Costello, while the wiry Christensen is a real horndog of an
Abbott. While they have a good bantering
rhythm, the fundamental essence of their humor is their willingness to go
“there,” as in you can’t believe they just went there. Based on the movie version of Klown, it seems like no joke is too
naughty for them, but consistency can be an issue.
By
the way, Klown is absolutely not for
children. The fact that a minor like
Marcuz Jess Petersen appears as Bo might be grounds for prosecution in a few
jurisdictions, especially given the questionable taste of some of his
scenes. Good luck at to him at school
now that this is out there. Yet, it is
Christensen and particularly Hvam who always suffer the worst humiliations.
