Director: Mikkel Norgaard
Starring: Frank Hvam, Casper Christensen, Marcuz Jess Petersen, Mia Lyhne, Iben Hjejle, Lars Hjortshoj
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Certificate: 18
A follow-up to a Danish comedy series that ran from 2005-2009, this 2010 film finally gets a release in the UK. I won’t even pretend to have seen the series, but luckily you don’t need much background to enjoy this vile dark comedy. Knowledge of the specific relationships may help some viewers and will certainly lessen the shocking impact of the foul adventures protagonists (for they certainly aren’t heroes) Frank and Casper find themselves in.
Frank and Casper are two very unlikable men. Unlike many similar characters in films though, they don’t try to be unlikable, it’s just written into their genes. Frank’s the kind of guy who leaves a child unattended in a house with burglars as he escapes himself, or ejaculates into his mother-in-law’s eye during a bizarre romantic gesture mixed with mistaken identity. Rarely is there anything malicious behind their actions; even when Casper cheats on his wife it isn’t that he wants to cause her pain, he is just fully focused on his own pleasure.
The duo go on a canoe trip dubbed the Tour de Pussy, but things are complicated when Frank kidnaps his nephew Bo (Petersen), in order to prove to his wife that he is ready to be a father. Such contradictions are what make up the basis for this very funny but very uncomfortable film. Frank and Casper find themselves in a series of increasingly squirmy and bizarre situations that cover the entire range of different forms of embarrassment. At the same time we’re treated to a peculiar tale of men growing up and male bonding. Kind of.
Frank and Casper are a hilarious duo, and despite what foul people they are; you’d never want to be friends with them in real life, you always want them to learn their lesson for their own good. No doubt some will find the comedy too dark, or the leads too unlikable, and even when they seem as though they are about to redeem themselves the unpredictable script throws in another curve ball. KLOWN works perfectly as a solo venture and will definitely have me checking out the entire series.
[usr=4]KLOWN: THE MOVIE is released on DVD on 31st March via Arrow Films.
