Eddie Krumble is a widowed contract actor who gets paid to pretend to be an audience member for infomercials, along with his best friend Chris. He also has a budding romance with Judy, a socially awkwardgas station attendant. One day, his frequent appearances as a recurring audience member get noticed by Stillerman, a late night talk show host. The attention from Stillerman's segments searching for "the Clapper" ruins Eddie's chances of getting more acting work. The Stillerman Show begins sending camera crews out to people and places that might have information on Eddie. When they show up at Judy's gas station, she is fired and appears to go missing. While he initially declines offers to appear on Stillerman's show without payment, Eddie caves and appears on the show to explain his desire to find Judy. Following this, Eddie and Chris agree to do several "Searching for Judy" segments on the show. After several such segments, Judy phones the network and tells Eddie on-air to stop "stalking" her. Afraid of a lawsuit, the show ends these segments and cut ties with Eddie and Chris. Six months later, Eddie and Chris reappear on Stillerman's show. Eddie's mother Ida appears and berates Stillerman for his treatment of her son. An emotional Eddie admits that he misses his late wife and that he loves Judy, who happens to see the segment while she is pumping gas that night. Because Eddie mentions on television where he'll be the next day, Judy finds him and tells him she loves him back. They subsequently marry. In the closing credits, Eddie is able to host his own informational TV series.
In February 2016, it was announced Ed Helms and Amanda Seyfried would star in the film, with Dito Montiel directing the film from a screenplay he wrote, based upon the novel of the same name. Helms, Mike Falbo would serve as producers on the film under their Pacific Electric banner, alongside Robin Schoor. In April 2016, Tracy Morgan joined the cast of the film, with Alex Lebovici and Michael Bien joining as executive producing and Steve Ponce producers under his Oriah Entertainment banner. In May 2016, Russell Peters joined the cast of the film. In June 2016, Adam Levine, Leah Remini, P.J. Byrne, Mickey Gooch Jr., and Brenda Vaccaro joined the cast of the film. That same month, Mark Cuban, Rob Gronkowski, and Sara Sampaio joined the cast of the film. In July 2016, Wendy Braun joined the cast of the film.
Filming
Principal photography began in June 2016.
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 23, 2017. Shortly after, Momentum Pictures and Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released in a limited release and through video on demand on January 26, 2018. It was released through Netflix on May 1, 2018.
Critical response
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 23% based on 27 reviews, with a weighted average of 4.35/10. The site's consensus reads: "The Clapper is tugged along by the valiant efforts of a talented cast, but it's ultimately not enough to make this wan romantic comedy worth a watch." On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 21 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
