Take the concept of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” mix in the men-behaving-badly antics from one of The Hangover sequels and add just a dash of Sacha Baron Cohen gross-out comedy and you’ll get Klown Forever. Comedians Frank Hvam and Casper Christensen return to the silver screen for a sequel to the 2010 film adaptation of their popular Danish TV show “Klown,” and, once again, they’re not afraid to gleefully indulge in taboos while playing skewed versions of themselves. Unlike Larry David, though, this duo finds themselves in painfully awkward situations not because they act like dicks, but because of where they actually put theirs.
Klown Forever doesn’t absolutely require familiarity with the original film or TV show—the setup is pretty straightforward—but it does help. In Klown, Frank coerces the nephew of his pregnant girlfriend Mia (Mia Lyhne) to join him and Casper on a canoe trip to prove that he’s father material. The problem is that Casper and Frank planned the watery trip in order to visit a whorehouse. Crude hijinks ensue. In this sequel, Frank and Mia are now married and celebrating the birth of their second child. Frank is settling into domesticity, Mia has had enough of Casper (and this is before he bangs their young nanny) and—despite the imminent release of a “friendship book” the two comedians wrote together—Casper is planning a big move to Hollywood, essentially ending his partnership with Frank.
After reading the final draft of their manuscript, Frank decides he must fly to Los Angeles in hopes of convincing Casper to return to Denmark. Once there, though, he can’t find the right moment for the discussion as Casper basks in his sprawling mansion overlooking the city and plans a blowout party for the douchey Hollywood crowd. They get into nude shenanigans in South Central (with the “standing 69” becoming a recurring theme throughout the film), have a falling out after Frank’s crass behavior chases away Adam Levine and other elite party guests and a drunk Frank ultimately betrays Casper’s trust in a very personal way—one that forces neighbor Isla Fisher to come by the next day to complain about the lewd noises. Back in Denmark, Casper stalks after Frank to get even in the only way he knows how—sexual deception akin to rape—and things only escalate from there.
The problem with Klown Forever is that it lacks the heart necessary to redeem its embrace of taboos. Frank and Casper engage in behavior that’s simply nasty for nasty’s sake, not caring about the hurt they will cause loved ones, and this leaves the viewer feeling a little dirty because the ramifications of the lines crossed would be anything but comedic. Women are depicted as mostly sexpots or killjoys. Of course, the fact that these two guys are selfish boors is pretty much the whole point, but that kind of joke can only run so far. When there is potential for character-driven moments or outright satire, the film can only rise to crudeness. Dogs licking butt cracks may make for effective enough low-brow comedy, but it’s hard to justify a blindfolded woman set up for a bait-and-switch in the bedroom or Native American scalping jokes. In an effort to go over-the-top with their buddy comedy sequel, the guys in Klown Forever take the low road, and you’ll really have to ask yourself if it’s worth going along for the ride.
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