Vulgar (2002)

23% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(4,767 ratings)

Kevin Smith co-produced this bizarre (and sometimes very dark) comedy from his high school friend and occasional acting colleague Bryan Johnson. Will Carlson (Brian O'Halloran) is a second-rate children's entertainer who barely scrapes out a living appearing as Flappy the Clown at children's… More Kevin Smith co-produced this bizarre (and sometimes very dark) comedy from his high school friend and occasional acting colleague Bryan Johnson. Will Carlson (Brian O'Halloran) is a second-rate children's entertainer who barely scrapes out a living appearing as Flappy the Clown at children's parties. Determined to make a living and support his harridan mother through clowning, Will gets the idea to change his act, and starts hiring himself out as Vulgar the Clown, a cross-dressing gagman who performs at adults-only functions. Vulgar's debut performance, however, proves worse than disastrous; hired to appear at a bachelor party, Vulgar is gang-raped by three subnormal rednecks who were expecting something quite a bit different. Will's life seems to have hit rock bottom when he stumbles into the middle of a police standoff with a deranged father holding his children hostage. Will, in full Flappy the Clown regalia, accidentally saves the day, and soon the story of the heroic clown is all over the local media. A television producer gets the idea of building a children's television show around Flappy, and it looks like Will may have finally hit the big time. But just when things begin to look up, Will is informed that someone videotaped him being raped at the bachelor party, and a blackmailer threatens to release the tape and destroy his new career if Will doesn't pay up. Vulgar features supporting performances from several members of Kevin Smith's stock company and production team, including Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier, and Smith himself. The film underwent several attempts to secure an "R" rating from the MPAA. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: Bryan Johnson
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 26, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Sep 3, 2002
Studio: Lions Gate Films

Critic Reviews

Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
An ugly, revolting movie.
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
Imagine Kevin Smith, the blasphemous bad boy of suburban Jersey, if he were stripped of most of his budget and all of his sense of humor. The result might look like Vulgar.
Mark Holcomb, Village Voice
An unclassifiably awful study in self- and audience-abuse.
Gene Seymour, Newsday
It's hard to imagine any recent film, independent or otherwise, that makes as much of a mess as this one.
Henry Sheehan, Los Angeles Times
[A] mess.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
For those willing to risk being made very uncomfortable, this instant cult classic announces the arrival of a distinctive new talent behind the camera.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...an amateurish, unpleasant, and primarily worthless effort...
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Fairly inept stuff.
Robert Roten, Laramie Movie Scope
A tale of horror and revenge that is nearly perfect in its relentless descent to the depths of one man's tortured soul.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
As unseemly as its title suggests.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
"Vulgar" is as far away from "Jay and Silent Bob" as you could possibly imagine, so if you are going to watch the film, try and forget there was ever a Jay, a Bob, a Dante, a Holden, a Banky and a woman named Amy, and you might get something a little more
JoBlo, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
The premise of this film is as audacious as they come.
David Cornelius, eFilmCritic.com
It's the movie equivalent of a sweaty old guy in a rain coat shopping for cheap porn.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
I'm sure there's a teenage boy out there somewhere who's dying for this kind of entertainment.
Mike McGranaghan, Aisle Seat
Imagine John Waters remaking Deliverance starring Bozo the Clown, and that's Vulgar.
Michael Dequina, Movie Poop Shoot
Being unique doesn't necessarily equate to being good, no matter how admirably the filmmakers have gone for broke.
Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWire
Hey everybody, wanna watch a movie in which a guy dressed as a children's party clown gets violently gang-raped? I didn't think so.
Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News
Unspeakable, of course, barely begins to describe the plot and its complications. Vulgar is too optimistic a title.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Emily A

I don't know what I expected going in, but I think that if this movie had more faithfully lived up to its title it would have been a lighter and much better movie. Instead this movie is just kind of dark and sad and unrelentingly bleak. Everything about this seems depressing and… More
I don't know what I expected going in, but I think that if this movie had more faithfully lived up to its title it would have been a lighter and much better movie. Instead this movie is just kind of dark and sad and unrelentingly bleak. Everything about this seems depressing and really drags you down, which is a bit of a shame, because a movie called Vulgar had the potential to be a boundary-pushing, shockingly hilarious opus. The Vulgar the Clown character alone held such potential. It's too bad this ended up being such an oppressive, harrowing and tragic downer.
Tim S

Everyone in the film sounds like they swallowed a dictionary, but the premise is interesting.
James A

A strange tale for people who like to rape clowns with thier sons. Pretty damn good.
Sylvester K

Utterly disturbing, the message was unclear, totally revolting.
Eduardo C

A confused, but surprisingly not incompetent, mess.
Christopher B

A film about a clown that gets gang raped by a redneck and his two sons sounds pretty can't miss, doesn't it? All probably would've went well if the director was just trying to tell the story, and not treat the film like he had something to prove. Disturbing scenes… More
A film about a clown that gets gang raped by a redneck and his two sons sounds pretty can't miss, doesn't it? All probably would've went well if the director was just trying to tell the story, and not treat the film like he had something to prove. Disturbing scenes interspaced with "quirky" dialogue scenes, while critisizing the media (is anyone else of the media being critisized in every film since NBK?) and having comedic moments and being a revenge thriller. Sure, I love schizophrenic films as much as the next weirdo, but this just bored me by the end. Might watch it again one day, but no rush.