RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Shakes the Clown
Shakes the Clown

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Shakes the Clown (1992)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
37 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:19

Fresh:7

Rotten:12

Average Rating:4.3/10

Runtime: 87 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Shakes the Clown (Goldthwait, who also wrote and directed) drinks too much, is late to birthday parties and his girlfriend calls it quits when he misses her big bowling tournament. But things get... Shakes the Clown (Goldthwait, who also wrote and directed) drinks too much, is late to birthday parties and his girlfriend calls it quits when he misses her big bowling tournament. But things get worse when the clown dispatcher is found dead and Shakes becomes the prime suspect. He's on the run to prove his innocence, save the woman he loves from an evil clown and come to terms with the realization that he's a serious boozer. Billed as "The CITIZEN KANE of alcoholic clown movies," SHAKES also features a then unknown Sandler in a bit part as well as a scene-stealing, foulmouthed turn from Page, better know as Aunt Esther of TV's "Sanford and Son." [More]

Starring: Bobcat Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Bruce Baum, Blake Clark

Starring: Bobcat Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Bruce Baum, Blake Clark, Paul Dooley, Jack Gallagher, Tim Kazurinsky, Sydney Lassick, Joel Murray, LaWanda Page, Adam Sandler

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait
Screenwriter: Bobcat Goldthwait

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Shakes the Clown

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A bizarre comedy that stretches its central gimmick thinner than watered-down carnival taffy.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/22/08
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/22/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

Extra credit for beating up mimes!

comment Comment
03/15/08
Michael A. Smith
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review

Great idea for a tasteless short, but not enough for a feature.

comment Comment
01/12/06
Rob Thomas
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

No review available.

comment Comment
07/28/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
02/04/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
11/04/04
Randy Shulman
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)

No review available.

comment Comment
08/18/03
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views

The tagline is true - and so are the rumors.

comment Comment
07/04/03
Karina Montgomery
Karina Montgomery
Cinerina
N/R

Shakes the Clown has been photographed as poorly as it was conceived.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

When it works, it's uniquely funny. When it doesn't, it's uniquely bad.

comment Comment
04/21/03
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Sporadically, but hilariously, funny. Goldthwait is great as the alcoholic, mime-hatin' clown.

comment Comment
03/21/03
Brian Mckay
Brian Mckay
eFilmCritic.com

A must-see for clown haters.

comment Comment
02/13/03
Mike McGranaghan
Mike McGranaghan
Aisle Seat

Shake this one back into the film can and let it rot there.

comment Comment
12/17/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

No review available.

comment Comment
10/03/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

It's weird, but it's not really funny.

Full Review Source: Montreal Film Journal | comment Comment
09/10/02
Kevin N. Laforest
Kevin N. Laforest
Montreal Film Journal

No review available.

comment Comment
07/28/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Shakes the Clown is sick but whether it's a joke is a matter of taste. And this film is about as tasteless as they come.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

A wonderfully weird two hours.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
all

Latest News for Shakes the Clown

June 19, 2008: Robin Williams, Bobcat Goldthwait Team Up for World's Best Dad Opens in new window
Robin Williams has agreed to star in World's Best Dad, a comedy written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. More...

See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
32% 32% Terminator Salvation
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…
86% 86% A Christmas Tale
60% 60% Paper Heart

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tarantino Could Have Directed Green Lantern Source: MTV
18
  • Will Duvall be Gilliam's Don Quixote? Source: Collider.com
20
  • No Hobbit Until 2012? Source: The Wrap
22
  • Don't Hold Your Breath for Hancock 2 Source: HitFix
40
  • Peter Berg Talks Battleship Source: CHUD
2
  • Summit Ponders Twilight Finale Source: Variety
156
  • First Look at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Source: USA Today
56
  • Jeremy Renner Talks Hawkeye Possibilities Source: Superhero Hype
14
  • Todd Phillips Talks The Hangover 2 Source: Entertainment Weekly
18
  • Tron Legacy Duo Heading into The Black Hole Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies
101
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more!
96
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
57
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
37
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
32
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D?
28
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle
20
  • 2010 Sundance Film Festival Lineup Announced
7
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey
5
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
11
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
21
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Shakes the Clown at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.