Although the idea of casting Sid Haig as a clown is intriguing, the character he plays is pathetic. Watching Haig chain smoke, and booze his way through 89 minutes becomes a downright tedious downer. The setting in Peru Indiana, amateur circus capital, is perfect. The acting by Haig, and always dependable Richard Riehle, is good. The problem is that there just isn't enough of a story. Such slight material of a washed up clown's attempted "recovery" from alcohol addiction might make a suitable short, but as a feature film it unacceptable. I wanted to like it, but for a film about clowns, there are minimal laughs, and the buildup to "Seymour Smiles" big performance actually goes nowhere. - MERK
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ihateveryone15 January 2021The sad clown is an overly-used trope but i like it. Here you laugh at the head clown's drinking and wasting himself, but one scene has it that he actually tried to kill himself... but the movie ends happily. I also like the enthusiastic kid that was with Seymour all the time, better known as "wonder boy"... Watch it for the sake of good music, circus without animals, good acting, and friendship. Like a good old friend said, "send in the clowns!"