Those 3D glasses are packed in for several segments that Relm filmed around a kooky storyline where he is chased by evil clowns while trying to protect a mysterious briefcase. If it sounds a bit like the plot to Pulp Fiction, it comes as no surprise: Relm wears his love for Quentin Tarantino on his sleeve, including several clips in Clown Alley from films like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. He weaves himself into that clip for the latter, and is a natural fit due to his signature dark suit and skinny tie. We could take or leave the 3D bits, but it's neat to see such ambition in an artist that could have rested on his turntablist laurels. The clown theme carries through in a way to several other non-3D segments that are titled "Dirty Self-Defense Tricks." These aren't really special features, but pieces of film that are woven into the flow of Clown Alley. Watching a muscular dude kitted out in lucha libre (Mexican wrestling, for the uninitiated) gear, taking down an evil clown dressed suspiciously like Mike Relm ends up being lots of fun, the kind of fun you may end up using in a dark parking-lot some night. Why Relm feels his audience needs to know a variety of sneaky wrestling take-downs and street-fighting techniques remains a mystery at the end of the film, but we do learn that these are handy when attacked by evil clowns. Extras include a trailer, a feature on the kiddie show Pancake Mountain, and coverage from Relm's performance at the 2007 Pan Am Games.
Relm's performances on Clown Alley are really amazing, live mash-ups of video and sound clips. At times, Relm is controlling both, or just tweaking one while the other plays freely. How he manages to tweak the video, we aren't quite sure, but he shows one segment using the dance scene from Napoleon Dynamite, where he is controlling Jon Heder as if Heder were a marionette on a stage. The approach Relm takes with this is like the visual equivalent of scratching on a turntable, and he pulls apart numerous other video and audio clips throughout the film. The most interesting thing about Relm is that he doesn't really deconstruct his source material as much as innovate through an additive style; he is a master of merging two seemingly incongruous items, making something that only he sees, but which feels obvious the moment it hits your eyes and ears. Relm has a really unique vision, and picks up on possibilities where others are too accustomed to coloring inside the lines. He's a thoughtful dude, to the point that he printed an extra DVD with a PG rating, probably so the R version wouldn't end up gathering dust in places where harsher material may be off limits. The "R" material isn't just about the violence or R-rated film images shown, it also contains a section of hilarious clips showing nightly news anchors pulling some awful verbal gaffs where they drop f-bombs and other raw stuff. We love this collection so much, and want to see more of Relm's self-produced material. On one level, this is mostly music and video you've seen or heard before, but Mike Relm's Clown Alley will still manage to surprise you and put a smile on your face. Just like that sandwich...
