Punching the Clown | Rotten Tomatoes

Punching the Clown

2009

1 hr. 31 min.

Comedy

List

87%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Henry places his music and reputation on the line by playing gigs in L.A.

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jaime h

Charming and original. Good story and entertaining. Worth the watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Some great moments, but the script seems to be missing Acts 2 and 3.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

Full Review

troy k

It has some good moments, but it basically stinks...still watched it all though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A painfully transparent vehicle to showcase Henry Phillips's comedy songs. Guess what? They are NOT funny. They're basically the musings of an entitled manchild, rendered "cute" by a folksy tune. The entire film is built around getting us to forget how terrible the actual "comedy" is. The "stay-true-to-your-art" plot is hollow -- a self-righteous justification for Henry's own obscurity.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I feel like Henry Phillips of this film is not far from the real life Henry Phillips. I love the understated humor elements which mostly covers the far-fetched, generic plot and uneven pacing.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a good film for anyone aspiring to be successfully in Hollywood. every part of this film worked for me except i didin't find this comedy song maker's songs very funny. This wouldn't be such a bad thing but the premis of the movie is he cant get a break while there are crappyer guys out there who get all the success. Full of funny LA situations, there a little "curb your enthusiasm" in this. You do feel pretty invested in a guy i had never heard of and who is playing himself.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Gregori Viens

Director

Guilford Adams

Fabian

Evan Arnold

Don Chase

Robert Babish

Owen

Robert Balderson

Jack

Rick Batalla

Lucas Cascos

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The comic folksinger Henry Phillips stars in this wry, poignant, smartly satirical comedy as himself, and puts himself into uneasy situations in which he doesn't always come out as the hero.

Nov 8, 2010

Full Review

Elizabeth Weitzman

New York Daily News

Every aspiring performer will appreciate Gregori Viens' unassuming comedy, which cheerfully skewers industry pretensions and media-fueled trends.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 8, 2010

Full Review

Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

Familiar show-business satire is enlivened by genuinely witty, off-kilter humor.

Oct 30, 2010

Full Review

Frank Lovece

Film Journal International

A quiet jewel of smart, unexpected laughs...as old vaudevillians would say, "It's funny because it's true."

Oct 25, 2010

Full Review

Michelle Orange

Movieline

The result is a shaggy rise-and-fall story that is deceptively well-wrought, playing at times like an extremely hip, deep-access concert film.

Oct 22, 2010

Full Review

Robert Levin

amNewYork

The film is an amiable, self-mocking satire about L.A.'s vacuous showbiz types.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 21, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

Henry places his music and reputation on the line by playing gigs in L.A.

Director: Gregori Viens
Executive Producer: David Klein
Screenwriter: Henry Phillips, Gregori Viens
Production Co: Viens Films
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 12, 2017

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