PUNCHING THE CLOWN: expectations amply exceeded

Discovering PUNCHING THE CLOWN is not exactly like discovering buried treasure. It's more like finding a $20 bill down the back of the couch. It won't change your life but it's infinitely more pleasurable than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.

Henry Phillips stars as a character called Henry Phillips, a singer of  subversive folk songs who looks like the bastard love child of Mark Knopfler and Level 42's Mark King,, and drifts across the American West playing one night stands in bars, restaurants and bowling alleys while living out of his car. His songs are sharp and very funny, but not in a way that can be easily categorized for commercial purposes. When the money runs out he heads to LA to crash at his brother's apartment, and through a series of bizarre and increasingly farcical misunderstandings finds himself a hot property and the subject of tabloid gossip.
This all plays out at a seductively languid pace. Henry's a man in no particular hurry to get anywhere or achieve anything. He has his pride and a good sense of his own worth but he's not particularly ambitious.He just wants to sing his songs to whatever audience is willing to listen. He's also a naturally funny guy with a great sense of timing on stage, and a very natural way with a one liner off-stage. Never having encountered Henry Phillips before I have no idea whether he's playing himself or a character but he's definitely someone I'd check out if I found he was performing anywhere near me.
Knowing nothing about him and only the bare bones of the story I came to PUNCHING THE CLOWN with low expectations and they were massively exceeded. The script is a little uneven - there's several scenes with decidedly clunky dialogue - and some of the cast are better at acting than others, but there's still plenty to keep you engrossed. Henry took me on a journey whose ending could not be predicted and I enjoyed every step along the way.