Imagine a bunch of crotchety demented loser clowns who get entangled in a criminal enterprise. No, this is not a political movie – it’s played for laughs and called The Big Whoop and will be appearing at the 418 Project on Sunday November 8, alongside the actors and writer.
The clowns are down and dirty. Think less Pennywise and more like Emmett Kelly on a permanent bender. This pancaked bunch of bozos is comprised of alt-Hollywood legends: Mark Fite (Independence Day, SpongeBob SquarePants) as Corky, Dave “Gruber” Allen (Freaks & Geeks, Gilmore Girls) as Gustav and Jim Turner (MTV’s Randee of the Redwoods, Arli$$) as Big Bugs.
Turner has been a pivotal performer in the sketch comedy movement for decades. Turner’s sketch group with Fite and Gruber (and Craig Anton) is called Two Headed Dog and one of their bits was/is about clowns who are on the bottom rung of society and full of a bitter attitude.
“We wrote a whole show called Clown Town City Limits about those three characters. There was a sort of underlying thing of Big Bugs perhaps killing other clowns to get their props, but not knowing what to do with the props. It was never really clear whether he did it or not. We liked it that way,” says Turner.
The Big Whoop’s writer Steven Banks is in some circles (besides having been the head writer on SpongeBob SquarePants) most well known for bringing his character Billy the Mime to the disturbingly funny stand-up comic documentary called The Aristocrats. “‘I’d seen Clown Town‘s show many, many times. I’ve been a big fan of those three guys. And I had met Jim (Turner) when I was doing my one person show up in San Francisco called Home Entertainment Center (now available on Amazon),” says Banks.
“It started when Kristy Pitchford and Penn Jillette saw a theatre being torn down where they used to do Clown Town. And Kristy said, ‘I’m never going to see Clown Town again. We should do a movie.’ Very long story short, they decided to do the movie. And then they asked me to write the screenplay because I’ve worked with those three guys a lot. I’ve seen all their shows. I know them. And I think Penn and I are the only ones that actually did birthday parties. I mean, I did birthday parties as a clown, so I knew that world. And I always thought when I saw the show, ‘Oh my God, what is it like when they do a birthday party,’” Banks laughed.
The Big Whoop starts with Big Bugs, Corky and Gustav performing at a children’s birthday party and it is, as expected, a total failure. Turner in many ways, carries The Big Whoop as the other two clowns only express themselves through gibberish and Swedish. Turner is the glue that the other clowns huff.
What kind of real life experiences has Turner encountered that might have given him the gravitas to portray Big Bugs as so gritty and desperate? Well, there was the time that Turner toured as the opening act for Adrian Belew (King Crimson).
“The lights go down,” Turner begins.
“’Ladies and gentlemen, let’s have a big Detroit welcome.’ And the crowd starts to go nuts. ‘Comedian Jim Turner.’ I walked out dressed like Liberace playing a ukulele. I started the bit and people were in the front row giving me the finger yelling, ‘F you, F you, F you.’
“Finally somebody threw something at me. And I can’t have people throwing stuff because Adrian’s got all these guitar pedals. The next night we were in Toronto and I was really excited about Toronto because all these shows had been really hard. And I thought Toronto’s going to be better. They’re cultured and going to appreciate this kind of post-modern idea of comedy that I’m doing. I start and they’re not laughing. They’re just sitting there. And finally, three guys walk up to the stage, and it was at the El Mocambo Club. It’s a short little stage that’s a foot up off the ground. Three guys, hockey jerseys, standing there looking at me. And they’re just kind of nodding their head and then all of them spit on me. I was stunned. And then this young girl came up to the stage. And she’s motioning to me and she wants to tell me something. And she’s keep motioning and I put my head down, my ear right down by her. And I’m thinking she’s going to say, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry about that or something’. And she whispers, ‘Fuck you’. I love that. I don’t really know what I’m doing in this world.”
The Big Whoop will play on Sunday, November 8 at 5:30pm at the 418 Project, 155 River S. Street. Tickets are $10adv and will be followed by a Q&A with Mark Fite, Dave “Gruber” Allen, Jim Turner and Steven Banks
