The Clapper (2018)

I watched this as a result of liking the book 'Eddie Krumble Is The Clapper'. Dito Montiel, the author of the book, wrote and directed the movie. The central idea of the story is a good one. Eddie (Ed Helms) is happy enough with his job as a 'clapper' in audiences for infomercials and is slowly starting a relationship with gas-station worker Judy (Amanda Seyfried) until a late-night talk show notices him in several infomercials and he goes viral, which costs him his job and his relationship. Helms does an excellent job as a man who finds the peaceful, anonymous life he had shattered, without understanding what's happening to him or why. Helms plays Eddie in a way that you can't help but feel sorry for him.Maybe there's a message in there about laughing at total strangers on the internet. Those who are exploiting Eddie for entertainment, and those doing the laughing are the ones who are in the wrong here. I think a lot of the negative reviews are because people expected that with this cast, it would be a comedy. It's not. But I found it to be an entertaining and somewhat sweet film and I think well worth 90 minutes of anyone's time.

Who could give this delightful movie a bad rating? You all idiots. I bet your all so hard to please. Lighten up...

This unrealistic romp around L.A. is unfortunately neither a good comedy nor a cute romance. The silly premise focuses on a poor schlub named Eddie Krumble, who is trying to eke out a living as a paid "plant" in audiences for infomercials. He wears various disguises, but eventually is recognized, achieving his fifteen minutes of fame on a television talk show.The romantic connection involves Eddie's love for Judy, a young woman who works in a gas station. The most unconvincing part of the film was when Judy feels betrayed and "stalked" when Eddie tries to locate her, using his newfound notoriety on television to reconnect with Judy after she left him. The plot line was absurd and, and the plot holes were wider than the San Fernando Valley.The filmmakers were not successful in squeezing any humor out of the reality tv plot. And they failed equally in the love story. The large cast of supporting characters who were the "eccentrics" of Los Angeles were disconcerting in light of the deeply troubling poverty, homelessness, and dire straits of Los Angelenos today. The exact area where the film was occurring currently resembles something between a Third World nation and a war zone.

I found The Clapper to be a very absorbing film, but odd in a number of parts.It was a very good study with elements of Educating Rita, when compared to the evaluation of certain long-held ideas: that becoming "famous" is desirable, that it is OK to use people for financial gain, and that just because you want something you should have it, regardless of the morals and responsibilities that go with the territory.America's obsession with becoming famous, and becoming rich (& famous) for basically doing nothing but being famous, is lightly viewed here, and I can't fathom why the script called for such low intelligence depicted by the characters Eddie & Chris.We are all subject to the seduction of money and "elevating our status", and certainly the hegemony of America's wealthy is shown to some degree and put to the test. However I felt it wasn't necessary to have Eddie & Chris shown as less to lower average intelligence, and therefore grossly gullible. The greed of getting something for nothing as depicted by the network executives is interesting, as was the price of eventual "fame", but I would have been more interested in seeing how persons of average intelligence find it so difficult to earn a living in a country that allegedly worships the dollar and is fixated on making a buck at the expense of "the other guy" - more egalitarian countries don't have the socio-economic problems that such predatory behaviour brings. Being used & discarded is distasteful to anyone, and the likes of Hilton & Kardashian cashing in on vapidity is hopefully a trend that will ultimately end, when networks stop trying to sell advertising by elevating such lack of ability to do anything & its hollowness is finally recognised.Two marks above pass from me, and I hope to see more of the same in the future - its getting very difficult to find a film that is thoughtful, reflective and interesting to anyone over 25 these days, we don't all need explosions and gun play, and yes we still go to the cinema and pay for tickets - please stop ignoring your most loyal audience !