Vulgar is a 2000 film, produced by View Askew Productions and featuring a few actors from the View Askewniverse of Kevin Smith. However, the film is apparently set outside of the View Askewniverse.
Plot
Will Carlson is a twenty-something loser who lives in a rundown neighborhood, where he ekes out a living as a birthday party clown in order to pay the rent for his abusive mother’s nursing home and the mortgage on his rundown house. Despite the difficulties of the job, clowning is Will’s one escape from the realities of his miserable existence
Production
- After the success of such films as Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Dogma, Kevin Smith financed three films (Drawing Flies, A Better Place, and this one).
- The film was written and directed by Smith’s long time friend Bryan Johnson. Vulgar the Clown was also the View Askew Productions logo at one time.
- The lead rapist, Ed Fanelli, was inspired by Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet.
- The Fanelli sons, Frankie and Gino, were inspired by the rapists of Deliverance.
- The movie was written in 28 days, filmed in 26.
- The role of Will Carlson was written specifically for Brian O’Halloran.
- Brian O’ Halloran actually had to have a real bottle broken over his head in one scene because the budget was so small, that View Askew couldn’t afford a break-away bottle.
- O’ Halloran really cut his own hand on a piece of broken glass in one scene of the movie.
- Many of the grips, assistants and film crew took bit parts in the movie (due to the incredibly tight budget).
- The film was sound edited and mixed at Skywalker Sound.
- Howard Stern got a copy of the film before it was released. His producer, Gary “Baba Booey” Dell’Abate is a big fan of Kevin Smith, so Scott Mosier sent a copy to him. After Gary saw (some of) it, he gave it to Howard, because he heard a clown is raped in it, he was expecting a silly campy comedy. When he got to it and he saw how serious it was, he was disgusted and repulsed by what he saw. He turned it off in revulsion and threw the tape in the garbage. He ranted on about it on the radio and had Kevin Smith on the show to ask him what he was thinking. He let out a particularly scathing review about it, but this just inspired people (including his own radio cast) to see the movie.
- The film world premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.
