The Clapper

The Clapper, on Netflix, is a sweet movie about a guy who leads a pretty boring life. He pays his bills by being employed as a professional ‘clapper’ in TV audiences for infomercials. Unfortunately his role quickly leads to his anonymity being lost, along with the actual point of the film itself.

Eddie, played by Ed Helms, is more than content with his private ‘clapper’ job along with his fellow clapper, Chris, played by Tracy Morgan. Practicing his ‘impromptu’ questions at home and traveling to the studios, Eddie is perfectly happy with his lot in life. He also enjoys his rather random but endearing chats with gas station attendant, Judy, played by Amanda Seyfried. The mutual appreciation is the focal point of the film.

Initially, the film ventures into the mad-cap world of show business with the smooth-talking cheesy charm of talk show host embodying the fakeness of it all. The clapper organiser makes it pretty clear that the guys know they are 15 minute famers only. Ed isn’t phased by any of this until a late-night host decides to publicise all Ed’s appearances. Suddenly the whole world wants to know ‘WHO IS THE CLAPPER?’. Cue the sudden unwanted over-night fame via billboards and media. This results in the departure of Judy, and the end of Ed’s romance before it even started. Throw Ed’s fame hungry mother into the mix and chaos descends.

The Clapper, despite a decent cast, doesn’t really produce much to write home about at all. Yes, it gives us a snapshot of people’s desperation for ambition and fame, but the romantic interlude isn’t actually that romantic. The result of Eddie’s quest to find his ‘true’ love is predictable. Later on in the movie and the audience is shown that the slightly quirky people in life can find soulmates. It’s sweet but slow and you’ll find yourself not overdoing the clapping. For something more exciting check out Ibiza (review here) which is fun rom-com!