In Dublin, a determined clown named Bobo refuses to accept his recent dismissal from a hospital clowning position, choosing instead to continue performing for the children. Meanwhile, he finds himself in awkward confrontations with two living statues and a troublesome clown known as Funzo, who has a habit of scaring children away. The situation becomes even more complicated for Bobo when he faces the scorn of his idol, Jean Ducocque, after a failed mime act performed by Pepe. Tragically, after Ducocque passes away, Jenny, a writer for a clickbait publication, is tasked with covering the funeral—an assignment that comes with its own set of challenges, especially after she is ridiculed by her coworkers for a one-night stand with Bobo.
At the funeral in Naherbawn, chaos ensues. Jenny turns down Bobo's advances, and the flamboyant The Great Alphonso announces his return to television, only for a violent altercation to erupt between the living statues and Funzo. The resulting pandemonium leads to the attendees being jailed; however, their confinement is short-lived as a solar flare triggers a widespread power outage, allowing them to escape.
Traveling in a clown car, Alphonso takes jabs at Bobo’s childhood ambition of a risky three-person clown act. As they reach a hot dog stand, they discover the extent of the chaos caused by the outage. The group seeks refuge with a commune hidden in the forest, but their plans for a clown show quickly unravel when they're interrupted by the return of the living statues. In a twist of fate, Alphonso kidnaps Jenny and brings her to his acquaintance Tim, who claims he foresaw the solar flare. Jenny sets her sights on using Tim's transmitter along with Alphonso's circus tower to broadcast a crucial news report. Meanwhile, the other clowns find themselves on a treacherous journey after their car crashes, leading them through a barren wasteland. With morale low, Funzo shares a childhood mishap involving lighter fluid, and the group decides to abandon their clown personas, opting to embrace their real names: Janet, Ken, and Dean, respectively, resulting in a symbolic burning of their clown costumes.
When Alphonso and Jenny arrive at the circus, Alphonso begins to win over local bullies to join his cause, but he imprisons Jenny, forcing her to become his assistant. Back at the commune, Janet, Ken, and Dean devise a plan to rescue her with the help of Tim. Their first attempt fails comically when Janet misfires a flare prematurely, leading to their capture. In an emotional revelation, Tim discloses that Alphonso had previously drowned his brother in gunge for disrespecting his Fun Club.
During a highly anticipated televised performance, the trio of Funzo, Bobo, and Pepe don their clown personas once more to execute Bobo's childhood stunt. In a twist, the living statues arrive and restrain Alphonso, setting the stage for Funzo's daring attack. In a climactic moment, Bobo and Tim manage to drown Alphonso in a pit of gunge. With the transmitter set up for Jenny's news report, she boldly starts narrating a conspiracy involving illicit activities, only to be interrupted by the return of electrical power.
At Ducocque's burial, as society begins returning to normalcy, Jenny once again turns Bobo down. Meanwhile, Funzo, Bobo, and Pepe make a pact to join forces and form a clown troupe, ready to tackle new adventures together.
