The Clapper

Back in the late 90´s, me and my sister Isabelle loved watching The Late Show with David Letterman. We probably watched episodes almost every week, because we loved the satire comedy, where David and his crew would joke about everything from politicians, to celebrities. Paul Shaffer also knew how to make golden comedy moments. Let´s no forget the crazy Alan Kalter, who made some hilarious awkward moments, as if he was the sexiest man ever. It was very clear that David Letterman did a lot to make late-night talk show entertaining, and i have a lot of great memories from this show. Of course, in the 90´s you also had completely different shows also. How about the classic The Jerry Springer Show, or Ricki Lake ? We even watched these ones, including The Jenny Jones Show. But to be honest, we always returned to David Letterman. Late-night shows continue to make audiences entertained even today, with shows like The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon or The Late Late Show with James Corden. There is something special about watching great TV hosts, making fun of different subjects, and having famous guests on the show. And i think this concept will go on, as long as there is an audience who will still be watching. Hollywood have made fun of TV hosts, both in TV series, and in movies. One film that especially comes to my mind, is actually a funny one called Get Well Soon. A comedy relesed in 2001, with actor Vincent Gallo as a cocky TV late-night show host Bobby Bishop, who will say anything he wants. This is actually one of the last films that i find Vincent Gallo did great, before he went downhill. The best thing about Get Well Soon, is that the film manage to make fun of the late-night show concept, and Vincent Gallo was a perfect choice for the character of Bobby Bishop. You should be able to find this film on DVD somewhere, for a reasonable price. Have you watched a lot of TV Shop networks, where products are sold for ( amazing ) prizes, and you get the best quality ever. Remember when you see the audience, looking like they are in paradise, laughing and cheering extremely fake ? What if you combined these 2 TV shows, and throw it all into a comedy ? Then you will probably have The Clapper, a comedy that tries to tell a story of a man who visits TV Shop shows as much as possible. I came across this film on VOD, not knowing much about it. But i did felt curious about the concept of the film, and to see actor Ed Helms in the lead role. Is this a really funny satire on TV shows, or is The Clapper a really big disaster ready to fall ?

Eddie Krumble ( Ed Helms ) is an ordinary man, who visits TV Shop shows very often. He gets paid if he says a certain line, and bring on his best fake laughter. This is something he knows how to do, and he brings with him his good friend Chris ( Tracy Morgan ) to sit with him in the audience. Eddie is in love with a girl named Judy ( Amanda Seyfried ) who works at a gas station. They communicate everyday, through speakers, since Judy is sitting in the customer service desk with a speaker. Suddenly one day, a TV talk show host named Stillerman ( Russel Peters ) have noticed a man that uses different disguises in TV Shop episodes, acting like he is different persons. Stillerman name him The Clapper, and want him on his TV talk show . Eddie is not happy about being called The Clapper, but find out he have bigger issues to deal with. Judy is fired from work, and Eddie have no idea where she lives. He comes up with a plan, with the help of the Stillerman Show, he could get help to find her, but is it too late ?

To make fun of TV shopping shows, and talk shows is a good idea. And if you know how to make fun of this business, you can make a lot of good points with the material. However, it is clear that The Clapper is a film that fails to make fun of TV shopping and talk shows. There are a different of reasons, why this film fails with the comedy material. First of all, this is not a funny film. This is supposed to be a comedy, and i barely smiled anything while watching this film. Perhaps it is because the comedy scenes falls very flat. Considering we have a good cast here, you would think that they would be able to make the film funny, even if the source material is weak. That does not really happen in The Clapper. The comedy scenes feels forced, in the sense that you are supposed to laugh, but it just does not click. Lead actor Ed Helms is perhaps one of the only characters that you at least can see potential in, but this is lost along the way. Actor Amanda Seyfried could have been good in this film, if she were given more to do with her character, than just talk behind a window. And i don´t really understand why actor / comedian Tracy Morgan is here. He have proved himself to be funny, both as a comedian, and in comedy movies. But his character feels just thrown in here, for no particular reason at all. Singer Adam Levine from the popular band Maroon 5 also shows up here, and you don´t really care. He is probably a nice guy, but his acting abilities needs to be worked on. Actor P.J. Byrne is also here, and thankfully at least his character have some substance. With so many well known actors in Hollywood, that gives basically almost nothing fun with The Clapper, is such a shame. Director Dito Montiel ( who have directed good films such as A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints and The Son Of No One ) must have had a vision that he would make a spoof film, out of the TV Shop network, and TV talk shows. However, his vision seems to have lost it´s way, while he made this film. It feels like a big mess, and this film is not constructed in a functional way. The Clapper is a comedy that could have been a good time. Instead, we are left with a film that is forgettable, and dull. I suggest you check out Get Well Soon with Vincent Gallo instead. I guarantee you will have more fun if you do.

Rating: D