Movies Like Shakes the Clown (1991)

Shakes the Clown is a 1991 comedy, crime, drama film from Bobcat Goldthwait with a MovieMagicScore of 5.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Trees Lounge and Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away.

Comedy Crime Drama

Trees Lounge

1996

Tommy has lost his job, his love and his life. He lives in a small apartment above the Trees Lounge, a bar which he frequents along with a few other regulars without lives. He gets a job driving an ice cream truck and ends up getting involved with the seventeen-year-old niece of his ex-girlfriend. This gets him into serious trouble with her father.

6.9

MagicScore

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away

2012

An original story featuring performances by Cirque du Soleil. A young woman is entranced by an Aerialist. When they fall into the dreamlike world of Cirque du Soleil and are separated, they travel through the different tent worlds trying to find each other.

7.0

MagicScore

Barfly

1987

Downtrodden writer Henry and distressed goddess Wanda aren't exactly husband and wife: they're wedded to their bar stools. But, they like each other's company—and Barfly captures their giddy, gin-soaked attempts to make a go of life on the skids.

6.9

MagicScore

Come Back, Little Sheba

1953

A mismatched couple's marital problems come to the surface when the husband develops an interest in their pretty boarder.

7.2

MagicScore

The Winning Season

2009

A comedy centered on a has-been coach who is given a shot at redemption when he's asked to run his local high school's girls basketball team

6.3

MagicScore

Providence

1977

On the eve of his 78th birthday, the ailing, alcoholic writer Clive Langham spends a painful and sleepless night mentally composing and recomposing scenes for a novel in which characters based on his own family are shaped by his fantasies and memories, alongside his caustic commentary on their behaviour.

6.8

MagicScore

Cheap Thrills

2013

Recently fired and facing eviction, a new dad has his life turned upside down when he meets a wealthy couple who offer a path to financial security... but at a price.

6.4

MagicScore

Another Round

2020

Four stagnant high school teachers decide to test out a theory that maintaining a constant level of intoxication will improve their overall lives.

7.6

MagicScore

Saltburn

2023

Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.

7.0

MagicScore

#10

The Last Circus

2010

A trapeze artist must decide between her lust for Sergio, the Happy Clown, or her affection for Javier, the Sad Clown, both of whom are deeply disturbed.

6.7

MagicScore

#11

The Lost Weekend

1945

Don Birnam, a long-time alcoholic, has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last - one way or another.

7.6

MagicScore

#12

Leaving Las Vegas

1995

Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

One A.M.

1916

A drunken homeowner has a difficult time getting about in his home after arriving home late at night.

6.7

MagicScore

#14

Frozen Land

2005

When a schoolteacher is sacked, he projects his bad mood at his troubled teenage son. The son, in turn, buys a CD player from a pawnshop with counterfeit money. This starts a chain reaction of misery as every victim projects his problems on to another person.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

The Geographer Drank His Globe Away

2013

Victor Sluzhkin signs on as a teacher of geography in a secondary school in his native Perm (in the Urals) and gets lost in a haze of hard vodka, desperate love for a nymphet-like student and the stress of educating teenagers. Geographer, as the students immediately dub Sluzhkin, attempts to escape from the grueling, dull, stultifying reality of Russia's provincial life in a rafting tour to the Urals. Accompanied by wild, adventure-seeking adolescents, faced with the numerous grim surprises of the nature, Geographer is poised to find himself and his own truth.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

The Kid

2010

Based on the real life story of Kevin Lewis, the film follows his childhood of abuse, his descent into a life of crime and the way he put his life together again afterwards.

6.4

MagicScore

#17

Gloriously Wasted

2012

Juha Berg is a 30-year-old hopeless drunk in the Kallio neighborhood of Helsinki. Juha doesn't have the first intention of changing his way of life - just the opposite. He really enjoys sundry sexual relationships, adrenalin-inducing violence and, of course, alcohol for which he gets money even if by collecting bottles. But the hilarity in a drunken haze soon gets a run for its money as the passionate Juha falls in love with his AA group leader. The relationship with Tiina progresses quickly to dating and Juha has to make pivotal decisions. Juha has to begin balancing between maintaining a functional intimate relationship and his old lifestyle. Juha's best friend Kristian does his best to sabotage the relationship, and Juha's shaky decision to stay sober is further hindered by Mikael, an expert on German erotica. But how far can you go before there is only one solution left?

4.3

MagicScore

#18

Delicatessen

1991

In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low supply. A young man new in town falls in love with the butcher's daughter, which causes conflicts in her family, who need the young man for other business-related purposes.

7.3

MagicScore

#19

Guard Dog

2004

Why do dogs bark at such innocent creatures as pigeons and squirrels... what are they afraid of? This film answers that eternal question. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

6.4

MagicScore

#20

Hancock

2008

Hancock is a down-and-out superhero who's forced to employ a PR expert to help repair his image when the public grows weary of all the damage he's inflicted during his lifesaving heroics. The agent's idea of imprisoning the antihero to make the world miss him proves successful, but will Hancock stick to his new sense of purpose or slip back into old habits?

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Shakes the Clown?

The top films similar to Shakes the Clown by MovieMagicScore are Trees Lounge (6.9), Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (7.0), Barfly (6.9). Each shares comedy/crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Shakes the Clown worth watching?

Shakes the Clown holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.4/10 from 91 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Shakes the Clown?

Shakes the Clown (1991) is a comedy, crime, drama film directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, starring Bobcat Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Bruce Baum.

Where can I find more recommendations like Shakes the Clown?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more comedy recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Trees Lounge Movies like Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away Movies like Barfly Movies like Come Back, Little Sheba Movies like The Winning Season Movies like Providence

About movies like Shakes the Clown

This ranked list pairs Shakes the Clown (1991), a comedy and crime and drama film from Bobcat Goldthwait, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Bobcat Goldthwait take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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