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Vulgar (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:6
Rotten:20
Average Rating:3.2/10
Consensus: Vulgar more than lives up to its title.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: First-time writer-director Bryan Johnson may be best known as a member of filmmaker Kevin Smith's View Askew universe (he played Steve-Dave in MALLRATS and DOGMA), but those expecting VULGAR to be... First-time writer-director Bryan Johnson may be best known as a member of filmmaker Kevin Smith's View Askew universe (he played Steve-Dave in MALLRATS and DOGMA), but those expecting VULGAR to be another version of CLERKS might be surprised by this off-kilter drama that is best described as Bozo the Clown meets DELIVERANCE. Brian O'Halloran (Dante from CLERKS) plays Will, aka Flappy the Clown, an earnest, downtrodden guy desperately trying to make a living as a clown. Will is a constant target of abuse--from the drunks flinging projectiles on his ratty lawn to his nursing home-bound mother's streams of vitriol. Barely scraping by, Will has an "epiphany" about how to make more money--by hiring himself out for bachelor parties as Vulgar, a clown sporting a bustier and garters. On his first outing, Will instead finds himself in a terrifying situation with the psychotic Ed (Jerry Lewkovitz) and his two inbred sons. After a life-changing violation that Will only reveals to his friend, Syd (Johnson), some luck finally comes his way via a television executive (a cameo from Kevin Smith). However, more trouble awaits the put-upon clown in Johnson's dark, disturbing tale. [More]
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Brian Christopher, Bryan Johnson, Jerry Lewkowitz
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Brian Christopher, Bryan Johnson, Jerry Lewkowitz, Ethan Suplee, Matthew Maher, Jason Mewes, David Klein, Kevin Smith
Director: Bryan Johnson
Director: Bryan Johnson
Producer: Monica Hampton
Studio: Lions Gate Films
Reviews for Vulgar
A tale of horror and revenge that is nearly perfect in its relentless descent to the depths of one man's tortured soul.
"Vulgar" is as far away from "Jay and Silent Bob" as you could possibly imagine, so if you are going to watch the film, try and forget there was ever a Jay, a Bob, a Dante, a Holden, a Banky and a woman named Amy, and you might get something a little more
It’s the movie equivalent of a sweaty old guy in a rain coat shopping for cheap porn.
I'm sure there's a teenage boy out there somewhere who's dying for this kind of entertainment.
Imagine John Waters remaking Deliverance starring Bozo the Clown, and that's Vulgar.
Being unique doesn't necessarily equate to being good, no matter how admirably the filmmakers have gone for broke.
Imagine Kevin Smith, the blasphemous bad boy of suburban Jersey, if he were stripped of most of his budget and all of his sense of humor. The result might look like Vulgar.
Hey everybody, wanna watch a movie in which a guy dressed as a children's party clown gets violently gang-raped? I didn't think so.
It's hard to imagine any recent film, independent or otherwise, that makes as much of a mess as this one.
Unspeakable, of course, barely begins to describe the plot and its complications. Vulgar is too optimistic a title.
With cheap camera work, a script that's so awful it makes porn dialogue sound like Shakespeare and scenes that suggest some especially unsavory snuff films, there's no reason to go near this flick in the first place.
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