Much like Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” this likeable comedy approaches humor from a focus on social faux pas and uncomfortable scenarios. In 2009, the comedy’s charm earned it the Audience Award at the 2009 Slamdance Film Festival in Utah, Utah’s annual alternative to Sundance. “Punching the Clown” is a semi-biographical look at the life of singer-songwriter Henry Phillips and his misfortunes in Hollywood. In reality, Phillips successfully performs satirical folk songs à la Jack Black and Tenacious D. In the film, he heads to Hollywood in a last ditch effort to find success after a failed career on the road. Phillips’s struggles provide the canvas for much of the film’s comedy. Critics praise the film’s sharp script and Phillips’s self-deprecating performance. Reviews have been positive – it has a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 62 on Metacritic.

Opening at the Quad Cinema,34 West 13th Street, in the West Village. Catch it opening week at 1:00,  3:00,  5:20,  7:20,  & 9:40pm.

See his movie now, brag about your discerning taste for undiscovered talent later. (NY Post)

A partly biographical, drolly fabricated comedy. (Village Voice)

Tags: Comedy, Independent, now playing, West Village

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