Shakes the Clown

I really admired this movie for being a fairly apt take on alcoholism. In terms of pain and damage. They could have easily made Shakes a comical drunk, ala Arthur or some kind of wacky party animal, like Belushi in Animal House. Instead, Shakes the Clown is a seriously troubled individual. It's also realistic in that he hangs out with a bunch of alcoholics, who have just a little more control over their habit.

The jokes hit at about a 15% clip, but I thought the guy who played Binky was wonderfully cast. It's not a great movie, or even a good one -- I guess I was just surprised by the honesty in its portrayal of alcoholism.

And I'm not sure I needed to see Aunt Esther talk about her privates in such detail!