Even if you don’t know Clark Duke by name, you’ve seen him in a bunch of sidekick and supporting roles, mostly in TV and movie comedies. Kinda short and pudgy; big horn-rimmed glasses; and a nice guy with a touch of nerdiness describes his default setting. He’s always been a plus for any production. He might be best-known for 19 episodes of “The Office”; minor parts in the KICK ASS and HOT TUB TIME MACHINE movies. Others may know him from a featured role throughout the dramedy series, “Greek”.
Like many successful actors, Clark has started directing and writing, using his Arkansas roots as the basis for his first two feature-length films. The first was a crime drama titled ARKANSAS; this one, STRANGLEHOLD, is a chaotic, gory comedy set in a rural Arkansas strip club. His brother Chandler is credited as a co-writer, besides filling a significant supporting role. Even their mom, Angela, contributes a brief, yet memorable, appearance. Perhaps spending most of his career in supporting roles motivated Clark to give so many of these minor characters their moments in the metaphorical sun.
Our heroine is one of the strippers, Bailey (Ashley Benson), living small in a trailer park, struggling financially to raise an infant with her lazy, hard-drinking husband, Tim (Jake Lacy). As you might expect, she performs for a grabby bunch of rednecks, making the workplace even more of a hassle than similar venues in more genteel locations. Her lot is further worsened by two factors – she’s not as free-wheeling on exposing her naughty bits as her more successful colleagues. When bras stay on, dollar bills are less likely to be tossed onto the stage. The more aggravating problem is that the club’s manager, Junior (Justin Long), is a much bigger jerk than he needs to be – denigrating and short-changing his employees whenever he can find an excuse. Casting Long was a fun choice by Duke, since this assholian hick is quite a stretch from the awkward nice-guy roles that have shaped most of his career.
The tale unfolds shortly before Christmas. Tim gets fired from his job as a big box-store greeter for just being stupidly combative about following their rules. The baby needs an expensive medicine, and ain’t nobody gonna help the couple stay afloat. Tim’s a gun nut with some military training – no surprise there – so Ashley decides they should rob the club on a night when it’s hosting a private party for high rollers of the less-than-legal persuasion. That’s when the cash in the safe should be unusually bountiful.
Their heist attempt is when the chaos kicks in, lasting for more than half of the film’s running time. You’re better off not knowing too many details. I can say that the patrons are mostly crime bosses using the club to launder their cash, under the guidance of its owner, Roger (Ron Perlman). There are a whole lotta gun-totin’, conspiracy theorizin’ rednecks adding mayhem and casualties to the proceedings. Things get very messy. And very funny.
The Duke boys (Clark and Chandler, not the ones from Hazzard County) deliver a product that manages to satirize the prideful ignorance of the rubes in the cast – particularly how they blame everyone else for their disappointments and failures – with empathy for those stuck in the underclasses with no real hope for reaching the American Dream that was sold to them from childhood on. The title is apt for both the micro and macro levels of its content. The dialog and physical comedy blend well, steering clear of the extremes of pure slapstick or tedious polemics. And Clark shows some fine directing chops in keeping so many moving parts coherent beneath the chaos.
There’s less nudity than one might expect from the premise of featuring such racy premises, but plenty of bloody action to provide the lowbrow kicks most viewers will be seeking.
2 out of 4 stars.
STRANGLEHOLD is available on Digital Platforms and Video On Demand now.
