Just a Clown

By itself, I would have given the short, "Just a Clown", a rating of only 6/10 but, as an appendage to the fascinating documentary, Capturing the Friedmans, this short was much more meaningful.

The DVD of Capturing the Friedmans has a complete second disk of extras, all of which I watched. "Just a Clown" was only one part; it is about David Friedman, a member of the Friedman family in the documentary and New York city's most prestigious clown for children's birthday parties.

David Friedman is also a businessman, managing a whole group of birthday clowns, as well as performing himself. "Just a Clown" gives an insightful look into the world of party clowns.

It definitely is quite the leap to go from this light-hearted documentary short to the shocking and groundbreaking Capturing the Friedmans, but somehow director Andrew Jarecki did it. Just a Clown can be found on Disc 2 of the Capturing the Friedmans DVD. During CTF, I found it hard to picture David Friedman as the #1 Clown-for-Hire in New York City. He was obviously angered and devastated by the events that took place in his family that I just didn't see how he could set that all aside and become one of the most successful children's entertainers around. However, after watching Just a Clown, you do see what makes Mr. Friedman's Silly Billy so successful. He treats his profession like an art form and as a serious business. He entertains the kids with ease and knows what it takes to be ultra successful in that department.

It was also interesting to hear other clowns comment on the great Silly Billy and the business in general. The documentary took an even funnier and lighter turn as a lady was interviewed on what it was like to date a clown. This is truly a unique, funny, and yet serious world. Unlike CTF, this isn't groundbreaking material, but it does give you insight on a subject that you probably never really thought much about.

My IMDb Rating: 8/10.

If you check on the commentary for "Capturing the Friedmans" you can see that many novella-length dissertations have been posted on that film, and there's not a heck of a lot more to say about it. "Just a Clown," however, is included on the DVD edition of "Capturing." and much less has been written about it. It was the film that Andrew Jarecki started out to make, which led to his larger and more famous opus.

I regret having seen this very short film right after having viewed "Capturing the Friedmans," the power of which completely overshadowed the content and intent of "Just a Clown" for me. It was, of course, completely impossible to see David Friedman, AKA Silly Billy, out of the context of "Capturing the Friedmans." I was a bit incredulous that Friedman's Silly Billy act constituted the very pinnacle of the children's party clown business, though. To me his act looked the least interesting of any of the characters in the film, his professional persona seeming to have been put together with a bunch of random stuff from joke shops and thrift stores. Then again, I'm not a 7-year-old, and maybe that's high art to a 7-year-old. I just got the impression from the film that his success is more the result of organizational skills than creativity, and it's certainly more efficient to throw on a pair of oversized glasses from the dime store a second before knocking on the client's door than to deal with wigs, makeup, etc. David's edgier "Dr. Blood" act, which he came up with for the very practical purpose of keeping the slightly older kids' families on his client list, certainly seems more interesting, with more potential for his mass media ambitions. Anyway, David seems to know what he's doing, and you can't argue with success.

It's been speculated, though, that "Capturing the Friedmans" may be harmful to David's career, and I fear that may be true considering the light it casts on his family background combined with the nature of David's business. Unfair, yes, but perhaps inevitable.