Wednesday, June 30, 2010

When Batman Met Joker . . .

Although the world of film and television is, for the most part, completely fictional, every so often their worlds intersect.  My favorite example of this is an episode of Happy Days when Howard and Marion Cunningham have just attended the movie The Music Man.  As they're leaving the theater, Marion says to Howard, "I think the little boy in that movie looked just like Richie."  The joke here, of course, is that the "little boy" in the movie was played by Ronny Howard, who also played the Cunningham's son Richie. 

Another example.  In Sleepless in Seattle, one of the main plot points is that the female characters are romantically obsessed with the film An Affair to Remember.  Meg Ryan and her friends can't even discuss this movie without bursting into tears.  Of course, the funniest moment in Sleepless comes when Tom Hanks, imitating Rita Wilson's teary summary of the Cary Grant classic, breaks down crying as he and his buddy discuss The Dirty Dozen.  

Anyway, the reason I bring all that up is because just the other night I was watching The Dark Knight on cable.  There's a scene when Batman is interrogating the Joker (played brilliantly by Heath Ledger) that goes something like this:

Batman: Then why do you want to kill me?

The Joker:  I don't want to kill you!  What would I do without you?  Go back to ripping off mob dealers?  No.  No.  You . . . you complete me.

So my question is this:

When the hell did the frigging Joker have the time or inclination to go see Jerry Maguire?  It just seems a little, I don't know, anachronistic to me.  Did the Joker, in full makeup and neurosis, drive over to the Gotham City AMC, purchase a large buttered popcorn and a box of Raisinets, then sit down and enjoy the romantic entanglements of a sports agent and his love-struck assistant?   Doesn't really seem like his type of movie, to say the least.  Nightmare on Elm Street, sure, I'll buy that.  Maybe even some underground Nazi war movie.  Hard core porn wouldn't surprise me at all.

But Jerry Maguire?

Imagine if the Joker had instead drawn his inspiration from other chick flicks, like When Harry Met Sally.


Batman: Why do you want to kill me?


Joker: I don't want to kill you!  What would I do without you?  I love doing battle with you.  I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. 

This would be funnier if you could hear me talking and if I could do a passable Joker impression, but I think you get the idea.

Kind of makes me want to see a Dark Knight prequel, so we get a better look into the Joker's backstory.  Maybe he used to be a sappy sort of guy, you know, pre-dementia.  Maybe he took his wife out to quiet restaurants, ordered the finest champagne, and then took her out on the town.  Maybe on the weekends they'd make muffins together, take long walks on the beach, and then go home and watch Casablanca on their DVD player.  Until one day, EL SNAPPO!  He becomes the Joker, goes on a homicidal rampage, and quotes Tom Cruise.

Weirder things have happened, I suppose.


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12 comments:

Homemaker Man said...

"Yes! Yes! Yes1 Ahhooohhhh Yes! Yes! Yes!

"I'll have what he's having."

Heff said...

Damnit !!! Homemaker Man beat me to that line !!!

nonamedufus said...

Um, by the way, did the Joker jump up and down all over the couch?

Anonymous said...

Umm Knucklehead? Me thinks you're watching way too many chick flicks.

heh heh

The Good Cook said...

Joker going to see Jerry McQuire.. it could happen.

Unknown said...

I agree with Quirkyloon...too many chick flicks, Knucklehead! lol

Anonymous said...

Great post (I have to admit that I watch chick flicks as well but only for brownie points with the girl!!! On an unrelated note, I once read a blog that had a "post of the week" every Sunday and thought it was an excellent idea. Why don't you try something lie that?

ReformingGeek said...

"You complete me."

Everybody has a dark side, right?

These aren't the droids you are looking for...

YIKES!

Candy's daily Dandy said...

Jerry Maguire is in essence, a chick flick.

I knew the Joker has transexual tendencies....

Suldog said...

Yeah, I always get a kick out of stuff like that. My favorite was when a character in The Three Stooges accused The Three Stooges of being like The Three Stooges and they got all indignant about it.

Anonymous said...

I can see the Joker now, talking to his friends after the movie. "I mean, that part, where he said, 'You had me at hello...' It really got to me, ya know? Like when I was all trying to kill the riddler, and then we called a truce and then we ran into each other again and started telling jokes and riddles and stuff..." [sigh]

MikeWJ at Too Many Mornings said...

Did you see Jerry Maguire? Did you see Rene Zell-what's-her-namer in it? That's why the Joker found time to see it, Knuck. Had nothing to do with the plot. Had nothing to do with being completed. Had everything to do with ogling the very hot Rene. So you see, the Joker is consistent with the Joker's character.

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