Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Mikkel Norgaard’s cruel, ribald and sometimes startlingly funny “Klown,” based on a TV series that includes an episode directed by Lars von Trier, begins as a weekend canoe trip—”the Tour de Pussy”—with a man hoping to impart a few life lessons after he kidnaps his twelve-year-old nephew and soon turns into a solid proof that Danish men, or at least Danish comedies, can be as crude and boorish as American ones. The political incorrectness, and genital fixation, almost outstrips “The Hangover II,” missing only a “lady-man” scene or two. Todd Phillips has a hand in a projected U. S. remake with Danny McBride. Recommended for connoisseurs of boorishness and filth. You know who you are. With Frank Hvam, Casper Christensen, Marcuz Jess Petersen, Mia Lyhne, Iben Hjejle. 90m. (Ray Pride)
“Klown” opens Friday at the Music Box. Two unrated clips are below, both typical and filthy; it also shows the handheld Dogme 95-like style of much of the film.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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