Out-of-work actor stumbles upon key to the universe, is drawn into intergalactic war between clowns and aliens.

So down on his luck actor (his show was cancelled), Eddy (Bodhi Elfman in a role he seemed batch-made for) is seeking to drown his sorrows when he is approached by a “biker clown” who demands “the obelisk.” Eddy brushes him off, but the clown brandishes a knife and chases him into the road where he is struck by Hollywood starlets Cindy and Mindy (Anastasia Elfman and Marissa Caprielian). Making it up to him, they decide to treat him to a sexual romp, which upon orgasm ignites a psychedelic vision where Eddy goes into another dimension (which he enters through a butt), experiences various weirdnesses, then awakens with severe bowel pains.

He then poops out an obelisk.

That’s how the film starts.

Fans of Richard Elfman‘s Forbidden Zone will find a lot of familiar moments in this film, but may be disappointed to find that it is not a musical. Nonetheless, it is fun and weird and definitely an Elfman production (brother Danny Elfman adeptly provides the music).

It turns out that there are space clowns after the obelisk, which originated when horny green-skinned space aliens inter-dimensionally inserted it into Eddy’s carny-crackwhore mother (Angeline-Rose Troy), who then passed it on to Eddy, who is apparently part alien himself. It is an object of much power, with wiggling runes, and the Government is also after it. And gangsters from the Chinese mafia.

Fleeing aliens, clowns, gangsters and Men in Black, Eddy finds help in the form of Professor von Scheisenberg (French Stewart), who believes the obelisk can destroy the universe. Or produce a useful amount of green energy. Eddy falls in love with Scheisenberg’s kung-fu wielding Swedish assistant Helga (Rebecca Forsythe).

Meanwhile, the leader of the clowns, Emperor Beezel-Chugg (Verne Troyer) beams his consciousness into a two-bit dwarf hobo clown named Fritz (Nic Novicki), and, aided by Fritz’s hapless sidekick Lenny the Giant Chicken (Steve Agee) seeks the obelisk, killing a priest (George Wendt).

Eddy and his assorted misfits also seek help from Eddy’s sister Jumbo (also Steve Agee), a no-nonsense trans burlesque dancer and bartender.

All of which makes complete sense.

Which is honestly a little disappointing. I loved Forbidden Zone. When I had new friends watch it I had to pre-apologize for parts of it (blackface, for starters! Elfman has addressed this, in case you’re curious), but it was always enjoyable and weird and funny. The Kipper Kids are quintessentially a weirdo act that I have patterned many performances on in my weirdo vaudeville career. Friends and I got permission to do a live-action stage version of the film. The movie was crafted with love. This movie, weird as it is, is a little less weird. But with more viewings, I expect it will grow on me the way Forbidden Zone did.

Says Richard Elfman, “Hipsters was actually an interim step to making Forbidden Zone 2. Just as zany but not as ‘full on surrealistic,’ as FZ, shall we say. But I put my full heart and soul into Hipsters and was blessed with a dream cast and crew. We had serious FUN!” It shows. The paper sets are replaced with LA locations and cheesy CGI, which honestly feels like a natural progression, but the narrative, wild as it is, makes sense. I know, it’s weird to be dissing a movie for being coherent. Can’t please everyone, the incoherence is part of why some people hated Forbidden Zone, I am sure.

Overall, this film is fun, wacky and weird. Bodhi Elfman is perfect and hilarious, alternately the straight man and the slapstick buffoon. The film is crass and immature and has clowns fighting horny aliens. It’s possibly the same universe as Forbidden Zone, but not the same experience. Which is okay. It’s like a rude Larry Blamire film. And you know, that ain’t half bad.

Definitely worth the watch. I just wish some of the musical scenes from the credits had been in the film.