Movie Thoughts: "Joker"

I understand that this movie was more about the mentally ill not having a voice in society, but there was nothing about this movie that made me want to root for Joker. Right off the bat we see he's not right in the head. And they double down that he sucks as a comedian. And did they really pull a Tyler Durden? In fact, I just realized that this is a remake of Fight Club.

As you can see, I've spent my time over in Marvel Land, and I need to dip my toes in DC. When a Joker movie was announced, I didn't think they were serious. It sounds like a direct-to-video sort of movie, or one that flopped at the box office. I honestly don't understand the fascination of a villain-led movie. In a film like this, you would expect to have a motive for doing the crimes he commits. There is one, just not a good one. He's not right in the head, Gotham City sucks, Thomas Wayne is a tool. He rose to be the Clown Prince of Crime by accident all because he killed three guys on the subway.

Until Arthur finds the adoption papers, I actually thought that Batman and the Joker would be stepbrothers if Thomas was really his father. That would've added to the number of struggles Batman faces as the Caped Crusader. He had to fight his brother who's lost his way. Way to get my hopes up. And they tried to paint Alfred as some kind of jerk when Arthur confronts Bruce just so we can have sympathy towards Arthur.

If Penny was mentally ill, why was she out of the asylum? Why was she allowed to adopt a child with her state of mind? If Arthur was ill, why was he out of the asylum? Isn't it a red flag to have two mentally ill patients living together?

I can't believe that the film would pull a Tyler Durden with Zazie Beetz. The difference is that she is real, but Arthur imagined having a relationship with her. It really wasn't something that wowed me. If anything, it pissed me off.

The more I think about it, I begin to understand how society has failed the people it's supposed to serve. Arthur struggles to hold a job. The social services cut their funding, so he couldn't get his medication. He imagines a relationship with a girl down the hall. Some of the problems portrayed in the film reflect our current issues today. Our health care is under attack. Hundreds of workers are without jobs, and many of them turn to crime to support themselves and others they care about. At that point, like Arthur says, they have nothing to lose. Nothing can hurt them at this point.

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Released On: October 10, 2019
Rating: R
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy
Director: Todd Phillips
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%
IMDb Score: 8.6/10

Awards
Golden Globe Awards