Movie Review: No Clowning Around (2012)

Reviewed By: Rob Sibley

Have you ever seen a balloon animal made out of human intestines? What about a down on his luck clown who's best friend is a talking puppet? Didn't think so. Well that's what makes Rob Dimensions 25 minute short film “No Clowning Around” so special.

Now I'm hard to impress with short films, usually they try to take a clever idea and run with it but even at short running times they rarely impress. This film is not one of those, it's a statement from Rob Dimension that if you give the man a camera and a little coin he can spin a tale with enough substance to warrant a feature film version.

I must admit, before watching this film I had no idea what to expect. The plot concerns a clown by the name of Mumbles... he's a drunk, his girlfriend is a junkie and well... he just doesn't give a shit about life much. Getting by on bottles of hootch and his one friend the talking puppet by the name of Mr. Peepers.

If Kevin Smith &William Lustig teamed up  I could see the final product looking something like this. Rob Dimension not only stars in the film but also is the co-director/writer alongside the equally talented Matthew Burd, who edited and did the cinematography.

 Let's talk about the cinematography for a minute, this film was shot on the cheap and it doesn't show. The visual look is crisp and clean with bits of that scratched up film look that the old Grindhouse pictures use to have. The film has a much greater depth of field then most films shot on digital. So kudos to Dimension & Burd for achieving this look.

The film is bathed in style, by day Mumble's world is gritty and realistic. By night things become a bit more atmospheric, bathed in lush blues bringing back fond memories of Argento and the slasher films of the 80's.

Now the line between comedy and horror is a tough one to juggle (sorry for the pun). Too much comedy and your film becomes a black comedy, too much horror and your film becomes a horror flick with a sense of humor. So what is “No Clowning Around”? Well it's definitely a horror/comedy much in the vein of  An American Werewolf in London. I say this because the story is told completely straight. Sure there is a talking puppet, but it's handled just with enough humor without going over-board. Really you can view this film as whatever you want. It's bound to attract fans of off beat comedy's and horror/slasher films alike.

Of all the short films I've seen in 2012 I will go on the record and say “No Clowning Around” is the best Independent short film of the year. It's a story told with a lot of love and a lot of heart. You can tell the cast/crew and the entire creative team put every fiber of their being into this production.

The acting is also top notch, Rob Dimension is really a triple threat. The dude can act up a storm, you actually feel bad for the guy despite the fact that Mumbles is a jerk and a drunk... but he loves his wife. Played by none other then Ms. Dimension herself. Also of note is the drug dealer/pimp played by Steve Corino. Being a Philly boy originally myself he brings a very convincing portrayal to what could have been a cartoon of a character. His character of Lenny is very real and very much a threat to Mumbles and his gal.

Overall, this film did no-wrong. It hit all the right notes of horror and comedy, it was superbly acted and shot and wasn't the least bit pretentious. This film knows what it is and it's proud of it. 10/10 Highly Recommended. Lets hope “No Clowning Around” gets the feature film treatment!

Head on over to  http://noclowningaround.blogspot.com/2012/11/pre-order-no-clowning-around-dvd-vhs.html  to pre-order a copy on either the DVD or a limited signed VHS! For more information on Rob Dimension be sure to visit his official website. http://latenighthorrorhotel.blogspot.com/