''Klown'' (Danish: ''Klovn - The Movie'') is a 2010 Danish

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by Mikkel Nørgaard, and written by and starring

Frank Hvam Frank Hvam Nielsen, known professionally as Frank Hvam (born 12 September 1970) is a Danish stand-up-comedian. Hvam was born in Viborg and grew up on a farm in Ørum Sønderlyng. His legal name is Nielsen, but he uses only his middle name pro ...

and

Casper Christensen Casper Lindholm Christensen (born 22 August 1968) is a Danish comedian. He has hosted many shows including '' Casper & Mandrilaftalen'', the Danish airing of '' Shooting Stars'' and ''Don't Forget Your Toothbrush'' ('' Husk lige tandbørsten' ...

. It was developed from the successful Danish television series of the same name, in which Hvam and Christensen play fictionalized versions of themselves. The film was released on December 16, 2010, to mostly positive response.

Cast

as Frank *

as Casper * Marcus Jezz Petersen as Bo *

Mia Lyhne Mia Lyhne (born 6 July 1971) is a Danish film and television actress. She came to the attention of a wider public after her participation in the 2005 first season of the Danish version of '' Dancing with the Stars'', but she is probably best know ...

as Mia Christensen *

Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film '' High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far from ...

as Iben * Lars Hjortshøj as Lars

Release

''Klown'' premiered in Denmark on 16 December 2010 and managed, during the two remaining weeks of December, to become the most watched Danish film of 2010. By February 2011, the film had sold 848,500 total tickets in a nation with a population of 5.5 million, a figure comparable to the comedy films of

Susanne Bier Susanne Bier (; born 15 April 1960) is a Danish filmmaker. She is best known for her feature films '' Brothers'' (2004), '' After the Wedding'' (2006), ''In a Better World'' (2010), and '' Bird Box'' (2018), and the TV miniseries ''The Night Man ...

and

Lone Scherfig Lone Scherfig (; born 2 May 1959) is a Danish film director and screenwriter who has been involved with the Dogme 95 film movement and who has been widely critically acclaimed for several of her movies, including the Oscar-nominated film '' An ...

ten years earlier. The movie had its North American premiere at the

Fantasia International Film Festival Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

in Montreal in July 2011, where it won the ''Cheval Noir'' award. The film was also shown in the United States at the ''

Fantastic Fest Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of ''The Iron Giant'' and ''Secondhand ...

'' where it won as best picture and best screenplay in the ''Gutbuster comedy feature'' category. In the autumn of 2011, it was sold for distribution in the United States to Drafthouse Films and 27 July 2012 it was given a limited North American release in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and Austin as well as being available through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

services. The following weeks it expanded to several other theaters throughout the US.

Reception

Critical reception

The comedy is based on "uncomfortable" humor featuring self-satire and humorous treatment of

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

s. Reviews would often compare it to ''

The Hangover ''The Hangover'' is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips, co-produced with Daniel Goldberg, and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. It is the first installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy. The film stars Bradley Cooper, E ...

'' and '' Curb Your Enthusiasm''.

Accolades

Sequels

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

, titled ''

Klown Forever ''Klown Forever'' (Danish: ''Klovn Forever'') is a Danish comedy from 2015 and the successor to the cinema success '' Klovn - The Movie'' (2010). It is directed by Mikkel Nørgaard, while Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam scripted. The cast incl ...

'', was released in Denmark in 2015 and was released in the United States in late 2016. The first trailer was shown in front of ''

Sausage Party ''Sausage Party'' is a 2016 adult computer-animated comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan and written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg from a story by Rogen, Goldberg, and Jonah Hill. The film follo ...

'' screenings at

Alamo Drafthouse The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, which is famous for serving dinner and drinks during the movie, as well as its strict policy of requiring its audiences to maintain proper cinema-going etiq ...

theatres. A third sequel, titled ''Klown: The Final'', was released in Denmark on January 20, 2020.

American adaptation

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

has bought the rights to remake ''Klown'' with

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

named as a possible director with

Danny McBride Daniel Richard McBride (born December 29, 1976) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He starred in the HBO television series ''Eastbound & Down'', '' Vice Principals'', and ''The Righteous Gemstones'', also co-creating th ...

to star. On 3 November 2016, it was announced that

Sacha Baron Cohen Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral ...

would headline the remake.

References

External links

* * * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, klown, Klown 2010 films Danish comedy films Films set in Denmark Films shot in Denmark 2010s Danish-language films Films produced by Louise Vesth