Klown/Klovn - The Movie (2010) - Nørgaard, Hvam and Christensen strike comedy gold

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Danish Movie of the Year

The upbeat, well-made poster for Mikkel Nørgaard's Klown

  
Klown is the feature debut of Mikkel Nørgaard (Klown Forever/Klovn Forever (2015)), written by co-stars Casper Christensen (Player (2013)) and Frank Hvam (What's Wrong with This Picture?/Tid til Forandring (2004)), based on the Klown/Klovn sitcom (2005-09) in which the two portray characters based on themselves in their own names.

Frank is going with his best friend and work companion on a canoe trip, which Casper has named 'Tour de Pussy', but when it turns out that Frank's long-time girlfriend Mia is pregnant and that she has doubts about Frank's qualities as a father figure, Frank kidnaps his prepubescent nephew Bo and brings him along on the manly trip to prove her wrong...

The two beloved characters have all the maturity of their much younger real-life counterparts in Michael Noer's documentary The Wild Hearts/De Vilde Hjerter (2008), but Frank's intentions are, for the most part, honorable, which redeems him at least. The acting is good, (SPOILER perhaps with the exemption of Christensen's breakdown scene), and in a couple of scenes even reach touching heights.
Drama-wise the film is a well-oiled machine. The video camera aesthetic of the TV-series is maintained, which is okay. One is chagrined and laughing over and over again in this very successful adaptation into a new format. SPOILER The ending, which features pictures of Bo's penis shown at his confirmation party, (made using a costly prosthetic), will cross the line for many audiences.


Related posts:

Mikkel Nørgaard: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Klown Forever/Klovn Forever (2015) - A raunchy laugh smash
The Keeper of Lost Causes/Kvinden i Buret (2013) or, Grumpy and Ethnic Find a Woman in a Pressure Chamber
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Here is a clip from the sequel, Klown Forever (2015)

Cost: 14 mil. DKK, equal to approximately 2.1 mil. $
Box office: 13.2 mil. $
= Huge hit
[Klown was released December 16 (Denmark) and runs 100 minutes. It was filmed from July - October 2010 in Copenhagen and around in Jutland, Denmark. 4.9 mil. DKK of the budget was granted from the Danish Film Institute. The film is reportedly the 2nd highest grossing Danish film of all time. It received good reviews and managed to become (in the two weeks up to New Year's Eve) the biggest Danish film in the country of the year with 481k admissions. By the end of its run, it had sold 848,500 tickets in Denmark, which is spectacular. In North America, it was shown at a couple of smaller festivals and grossed 68k $. It did better business in Iceland and Norway, but racked up almost its total gross in its native Denmark: 12 mil. $ (90.1 % of the total gross). A sequel came out in 2015, and the rights to a remake have been secured by Warner Bros., possibly to star Danny McBride. Klown is certified fresh at 71 % with a 6.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Klown?

Klown Forever/Klovn Forever (2015) - A raunchy laugh smash

♥♥♥♥

+ Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year

Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam on what must be the year's most outrageous poster, for Mikkel Nørgaard's Klown Forever

Klown Forever is the sequel to the huge Danish comedy hit Klown/Klovn: The Movie (2010), which was based on the TV-series Klown/Klovn (2005-09), in which Danish comedians Casper Christensen (Player (2013)) and Frank Hvam (What's Wrong with This Picture?/Tid Til Forandring (2004)) play themselves in their celebrity-studded, clownish Copenhagen lives.

Frank has become a henpecked father and husband, and his old best friend Casper, now single, is living in another universe and consequently decides to leave Frank and Denmark to pursue his dreams of making it big in Los Angeles.

For us who have laughed hysterically at Klown before, - TV-series and/or the movie, - Klown Forever is like a box of candies. - It's just a lot of fun. Christensen and especially Hvam, who also co-wrote and executive produced the film, are back in top shape, comically if not physically, and they go all in once again, resulting in awkwardness and uproarious laughter aplenty.
The plot may be a bit thick at some points, but it generally works, even though it doesn't have the major narrative drive of the first film, (the journey of that film isn't comparable to the one here, which is cut short.) To get out the other few problems of the film, debuting actress Simone Colling looks fine but she comes up a bit short acting-wise here as Casper's daughter, a quite big part. The film also has a couple of effects-shots that unfortunately simply don't look good enough.

Mia Lyhne (All Inclusive (2014)) is spectacular, and looks as good as ever, or even better, and I am hoping for a more Mia-centered plot if a proposed third movie happens.
Lars Hjortshøj (Journey to Saturn/Rejsen til Saturn (2008)) and Tina Bilsbo (Langt fra Las Vegas (2001-02)) are hilarious as Frank and Mia's overly loving friend couple, and Iben Hjejle (High Fidelity (2000)) plays a bitchy version of herself (again.)
Klown Forever introduces to the Klown universe Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones (2011-16)), Adam Levine (Begin Again (2014)) and Isla Fisher (Bachelorette (2012)), who plays herself in the scene that I found to be the outrageous film's absolute funniest. - Although there are many to choose from.
The hilarities are once again directed by Mikkel Nørgaard (Klown/Klovn: The Movie). 

Related posts:

Mikkel Nørgaard: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]  
The Keeper of Lost Causes/Kvinden i Buret (2013) or, GRumpy and Ethnic Find a Woman in a Pressure Chamber

Watch the official trailer here, - unfortunately, it is not currently available with English subtitles

Cost: 27.1 mil. DKR/4.1µ$
Box office: Unknown
= Uncertainty
[Shot in 2014 in Los Angeles and Copenhagen, Klown Forever is produced by Hvam and Christensen's Nutmeg Movies, TV2 and with 4 mil. DKR in support from the Danish Film Institute's market arrangement. The film was shown in Cannes for selling purposes and released in Denmark on September 24th. It has so far drawn 308k admissions in Denmark, which is quite strong, but still far from the stunning 850+ thousands that paid to see the first film. It opens in Iceland and Norway on Friday 10.9.]

What do you think of Klown Forever?