irreverent reverends

A fiery documentary with loose morals but fabulous visuals. Clownin' and Krumpin' in South Central Los Angeles are profiled and exposed by semi-legendary MTV video guru LaChapelle. The frenetic and truly remarkable dance styles may resemble each other, but as members of the 50+ clown groups and their rival Krumpers will tell you, they are worlds different.

As the dancing subculture consumes would-be gang bangers of the seedy L.A. southside, LaChapelle focuses on innovator "Tommy the Clown" and his proteges, as well as icons like Tight Eyez, Miss Prissy and Lil' C to unfold this tale. These tangible faces make the dance obsession that much more meaningful. We hear horror stories of family shootouts, drug interventions and murder from the dancers, which proves to be the most potent aspect as to why this subculture is so important. It's expressive, personal and damn cool to watch, but the motivation behind the sweat and runny-clown make up is the most intriguing.

Think about it, how many of these dancers would be killing for acceptance into the Bloods or Crips if not for their investment in dancing? LaChapelle struggles in elevating the truly interesting morsels of the culture, like an abrupt visit to a discount casket store, above the mind blowing dance routines. The Bloods v. Crips may be overlooked for Clowns v. Krumpers, but one still has to wonder, how far can this rivalry go? A break in at the end nearly shatters this moral dilemma. Then again, this is South Central L.A.