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JOHN LEGUIZAMO'S GHETTO KLOWN (TV)

Summary

A special featuring John Leguizamo performing his one-man show “Ghetto Klown,” a retrospective of his life, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey.

He begins by discussing his family moving from Colombia to a neighborhood in Queens when he was a child. In order to avoid his constantly-fighting parents, he takes to the streets and finds he has a talent for entertaining his friends through comedy, recalling how he tried to make money by doing improvisations over a subway P.A. system, resulting in an arrest. He attends Murry Burgtraum High School, where he is known as the “school class clown.” On the advice of his math teacher he attends a small acting school in Manhattan, recalling his first meeting with the elderly acting coach. He soon becomes enthralled with classic plays and feels that he could be able to use his life experiences as a means of storytelling. He then recalls his acting audition with famed acting instructor Lee Strasberg and the negative reaction of his parents when they learn of his ambition to become an actor, kicking him out of the house.

In Strasberg’s class, he comes to realize that he has a great deal of subconscious resentment for his father, as he relates in his recollection of a particular acting exercise. Over the course of the 1980’s he attends many auditions until finally landing a role on the television series “Miami Vice,” playing a drug dealer. However, he feels that the series is exploitative and has mixed feelings about signing on, conferring with his elderly grandfather about it. He considers his own performance to be “awful” and recalls that he worried about the rest of his career. He signs with a management company, “Irving Resnick and Son,” recalling his phone conversation with the speech-impaired namesake of the company. They prove to be helpful when they secure an audition for the Brian de Palma film “Casualties of War,” and he lands a sizeable role. He recounts an incident in which he reacts poorly to being repeatedly slapped in the face by co-star Sean Penn as part of a scene.

Filmmaking proves to be disillusioning for him, and he returns to Queens in a depression. He becomes inspired to write about his experiences, and this eventually crystallizes into his first one-man show, “Mambo Mouth,” which premieres Off-Broadway. His somewhat tepid success earns him further mockery from his father, which again inspires him to write, this time producing another one-man show, “Spic-O-Rama,” this one specifically about his family. At this time he reunites with his childhood friend Ray, who offers to come on as an assistant in order to eventually become a screenwriter. He recounts an incident in which he flirted with a woman at a club while under the influence of speed, supplied by Ray. They end up in a relationship together, and eventually they get married. After that he receives a role in the film “Executive Decision,” although he is reticent about leaving due to marital problems. He has Ray move in with him for moral support, and he accompanies him during the filming of “Executive Decision” in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He becomes concerned due to being cast in yet another stereotypical role and tries to speak to the director about it. Ray gives him marijuana to calm him, but this backfires due to the presence of other substances, making John disoriented when he runs into co-star Steven Seagal. This results in an altercation as Seagal throws John against a wall.

Upon his return to New York, his wife expresses her frustrations and divorces him, feeling unloved. The depression resulting from this falling-out inspires him to write yet another one-man show, “Freak,” where he speaks more candidly about his childhood and his relationship with his father. He recounts one show when he was visited by his father after the performance, who feels offended by the material in “Freak.” He feels that it is “a disgrace” and tells John that he is disowning him. John gets into an argument with him, furious at his long absence from his life. The incident proves to be emotional for both men, and the issues brought up by this and other recent events leads to the creation of another one-man show, “Sexaholix.” However, he discovers that most of his earnings are being taken by his producers, managers, and ex-wife, leaving him with little income. To complicate matters, his parents end up suing him on charges of defamation; he has a nervous breakdown and ends the show’s run.

He decides to take time off in order to get over his newfound performance anxiety, but de Palma offers him a movie part that he feels is too good to pass up. The film is “Carlito’s Way,” and he stars alongside Al Pacino, reenacting the filming of a scene with him. He also recounts how he fell in love with one of the film’s costume designers, whom he refers to as “Teeny,” who echoes Pacino’s advice to him to stop overacting and being a “clown.” She rebuffs him, and he finds he cannot stop thinking about her. After the filming of “Carito’s Way,” he is offered his first leading role in the film “To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar,” portraying a drag queen. Despite the unusual nature of the role, he takes to it readily and asks that “Teeny” be his costumer for the film. They travel to Nebraska to film it, and there are some initial difficulties; John finds his costuming is “too hot” and recalls a “disastrous” first day of shooting. He sees “Teeny” at a bar that night and recalls trying to flirt with her, but she is seemingly still not interested in him. However, she later reveals that she read his plays and is impressed with his writing. They talk and realize that both of their families consider them to be “failures,” frustrating both of them. This leads to a romantic encounter, but John is fearful of what it may lead to and walks out on her while she is asleep. He shows up the next day on set drunk, and gets into a fight with co-star Patrick Swayze.

The exposure from this latest film leads John to seek opportunities on television, hoping to create an entirely Latino variety show with Ray as one of his writers and his mother as the accountant. The show, “House of Buggin’,” garners terrible ratings, and he is fired by the network, along with Ray and virtually the entire cast, rebranding it as the long-running “MADtv.” After this he is called up to audition for the film “Romeo + Juliet,” a modern adaptation of the Shakespeare play featuring John as Tybalt. He initially considers passing it over, but his mother informs him that he has just filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, blaming Ray for his financial troubles. He realizes that he cannot work with Ray anymore and tries to part ways with him amicably. However, Ray tries to hold him up for money and they get into an argument; Ray sucker-punches him and walks out. John is sad to see him go after being friends with him for over thirty years. He shows up at the “Romeo + Juliet” audition with a speech impediment due to being punched in the face, going up against Benicio del Toro. He gets the part after the director, Baz Luhrmann, mocks him, drawing out genuine anger and grittiness in his performance.

This reinvigorates his career and he gets steady movie work after “Romeo + Juliet.” However, he still feels unhappy with his life. His grandfather believes that he does not want to grow up and tells him that having children will change his life for the better. He passes away soon thereafter, and John re-evaluates his priorities in life. He finds “Teeny” and apologizes to her, trying to explain that he has come a long way and that there is more to him than simply his acting career. He finishes by proposing to her, and she accepts; they get married and have two children together. Having children proves to be greatly satisfying for him, giving him newfound purpose and happiness. Even so, he still feels that something is missing in his life. He finds that it is difficult to write and tries to find work whenever he can, which becomes more difficult when his manager parts ways with him. He also has problems with his wife, who tries to encourage him to exercise his writing talents again, but feels he has become too controlling over her life and is uncertain of who he really is; she throws him out of the house for a time.

He realizes that she is right and tries to make amends by confronting his father, who had recently suffered from a stroke. He speaks to his father about his plays, saying that he did not mean to hurt him, and says that he is writing a piece that is more even-handed about him. Despite his misgivings about him, he thanks his father for shaping him into his present form. He recounts spending time around his old neighborhood and having an epiphany that “sharing my unhappiness was my happiness,” and that he is a “clown” after all.

Details

• NETWORK: HBO
• DATE: November 30, 1999 10:00 PM
• RUNNING TIME: 1:35:53
• COLOR/B&W: Color
• CATALOG ID: 122845
• GENRE: Comedy
• SUBJECT HEADING: TV - Comedy
• SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2014
• COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

• Fisher Stevens … Executive Producer, Director
• John Leguizamo … Executive Producer, Writer
• Jeff Golenberg … Executive Producer
• Sam Maydew … Executive Producer
• David Rodriguez … Executive Producer
• Emily Cohen … Producer
• Andy Donald … Producer
• Zara Duffy … Associate Producer
• Max Tromba … Associate Producer
• Frank Hall Green … Line Producer
• John Leguizamo … Performer
• Brian de Palma
• Benicio del Toro
• Baz Luhrmann
• Al Pacino
• Sean Penn
• Steven Seagal
• Lee Strasberg
• Patrick Swayze

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