Failed Oscar Campaigns: "Joker" (2019)

Scene from Joker (2019)

As awards seasons pick up, so do the campaigns to make your film have the best chances at the Best Picture race. However, like a drunken stupor, sometimes these efforts come off as trying too hard and leave behind a trailer of ridiculous flamboyance. Join me on every other Saturday for a highlight of the failed campaigns that make this season as much about prestige as it does about train wrecks. Come for the Harvey Weinstein comments and stay for the history. It's going to be a fun time as I explore cinema's rich history of attempting to matter.

Joker (2019)

Directed By: Todd Phillips

Written By: Todd Phillips & Scott Silver (Written By), Bob Kane & Bill Finger & Jerry Robinson (Characters)

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Running Time: 122 minutes

Summary: In Gotham City, mentally troubled comedian Arthur Fleck is disregarded and mistreated by society. He then embarks on a downward spiral of revolution and bloody crime. This path brings him face-to-face with his alter-ego: the Joker.

- The Movie -

In a world that would include Best Popular Film, there's a good chance that Joker would've won quite easily. The D.C. film became the most discussed title of 2019, managing to raise conversation regarding mental illness along with what constitutes a comic book movie. There were even memes and political activism that resulted from the film's success, turning it into an international success the likes of which no other Best Picture contender that year could ever hope to achieve. Love it or hate it, everyone was destined to have an opinion on Joker and how it updated the Batman villain by doing the unthinkable: giving him an R-Rated origin story. What exactly does that entail? Well, depending on your view it's either homage or theft. Even then, its impact on the future could not be denied.

From director Todd Phillips, the film gained a lot of attention for being Joaquin Phoenix's first big studio release in over a decade. While he has remained active doing arthouse movies, Joker had the curiosity to make many wonders what he would bring to the movie. To prove just how interwoven this pandora's box goes, there are people who love Phoenix's performance but what the story. There's no shortage of contradictions here that keep the film from remaining an interesting talking point. It was a director's first major shift from comedy to dark drama, and it looked like he was about to take the world by storm, getting endorsements from Oscar-winning filmmakers who hail it as a masterpiece, psychologists calling it a compelling study of psychopaths.

But the question that ultimately comes from Joker's success is whether it is as dangerous as anyone wants to claim it is. Is this going to be the turning point when comic books become high art? There's no denying that its impact will be around for a while. It's impossible for people to play The Joker and not be discussed somehow. Phoenix definitely brought his own version to life in meaningful ways, but the question, if it will compare to Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, or even Jared Leto's interpretation, was never disputed. People will continue to be obsessed with this character until the end of time. Whether or not this opens the door for a darker, more adult form of comic book movies is yet to be seen. Though, if the frenzy that followed is any cue, it definitely will be considered. 

- The Campaign -

In theory, the story begins with The Hangover Part III. While a box office success, Phillips' reputation was changing. Suddenly he was considered a comedy hack, relying on bro-style humor that no longer appealed to the masses. It clearly had an impact on him as he began to shift to more dramatic works. Like Adam McKay before and Peter Farrelly after, Phillips tested the water first with a humorous weapons dealer drama called War Dogs which was a decent success but didn't leave much of an impression. He decided that with Joker, he was officially going to surprise everyone by making a dark version of a beloved character. 

Given that Zack Snyder had begun turning Batman into a darker property in the D.C. Extended Universe, it made sense that this proposed standalone would take risks. It also helped that while it's not officially part of this universe, it continues the trend of D.C. experimenting with tone, making wildly different movies each time out. Joker was going to be their first serious movie since Wonder Woman, and this time it would pull references from New Hollywood auteurs like Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet. It was going to try and be culturally relevant, finding the heartbreak of a clown in the perfect form of subversion.

To editorialize, I personally believe that Joker was more of a commentary on Phillips' career than mental illness. Given the fallout of The Hangover Part III, this insecurity that nobody thinks you're funny created insecurity in Phillips that resulted in him making Joker a lengthy commentary on his frustration, of a misunderstood comedian who is abused by the world around him. If you can't be funny, then be aggressive and mean. It lines up with later comments he made during the campaign where he suggested that woke culture was ruining comedy and that he made Joker because he wasn't allowed to be funny anymore. If that wasn't enough, co-star Marc Maron would criticize Phillips' comments claiming that the opposite was true (it was also announced that Maron was in the film a week after he had publicly complained that comic book movie fans were "brain-raped by He-Man"). 

The big appeal was Joaquin Phoenix, who had been doing arthouse movies for most of the 2010s. Having last gained an Oscar nomination for The Master in 2012, many wondered if he could ever win given how he badmouthed the campaign process in 2012 claiming that it was like chasing a "carrot on a stick." In 2019, it was a curio to see him return because audiences knew he didn't just sign on for any studio project. He dropped 52 pounds and claimed to have gotten an eating disorder. He studied mental illness behaviors and decided that if he was going to play The Joker, he was going to do it his way. Phillips studied mass murderers to get the psychology of the character right and built him as more of a realistic threat.

Compare that to the recent trends of Marvel movies. Like Joker, they were pushing Avengers: Endgame for major awards. The major difference was that it was a culmination of a decades-long project. Joker was a one-off that was trying something unlike other D.C. movies. Even when Martin Scorsese (who was at one time attached as producer to Joker) complained about the manufactured nature of comic book movies, he never expressed any complaints at Joker. If anything, it served as a counterpoint to Avengers: Endgame and it helped to serve Phillips' case.

Having promoted the film with behind the scenes photographs on his Instagram, the trailers slowly incorporated a more artful approach to the character, including a Jimmy Durante cover of "Smile." It wasn't just going to reference Gotham characters, but regular clown iconography such as A Little Night Music's "Send in the Clowns." One could argue that Phillips didn't care to tie it into something familiar and instead populated it with trash and the least comprehensibly nice residents imaginable. It was a sad-sack affair, and that's what made the studios initially mad.

Of course, things were off to a good start when Joker won The Golden Lion from Venice Film Festival, establishing it as a legitimate awards threat. Still, it raised questions as to whether the film would inspire violence. This was only a few years after The Dark Knight Rises saw a shooter dress up as "The Joker" and assault a theater in Aurora, CO. That theater wouldn't play the film out of fear while others amped up security to prepare for the worst. Many feared that it would encourage an incel community to attack others. As a result, it raised questions as to whether it was being responsible for its depiction of mental health. The debate rages on to this day with psychologists saying it was accurate while others, like David Fincher, claim it was disrespectful.

Cut to the chase, the film was an immediate success with people calling it a masterpiece. Everyone from Mark Hamill to Michael Moore and Josh Brolin all labeled it a masterpiece. The American president would watch it and say similarly nice things. There was no denying that the film was catching on fast. Even as it gained controversy, no theater was shot up nor any violent attacks are done in the film's name. Sure, there was an online community (specifically on Twitter) that used it as a nihilistic catchall to be mean to anyone because apparently rules don't matter. The iconography became popular and many argued as to whether the ending was ambiguous or what it truly meant. At the end of the day, it was largely agreed that it was just a dark movie that had some ties to Taxi Driver and (quite literally in the Robert De Niro casting) The King of Comedy.

As the first live-action R-Rated Batman adaptation, it quickly got acclaim for establishing a new style of comic book filmmaking. It was one that was more adult. Many feared what it meant for cinema overall, that serious issues could only be discussed via comic book characters. Others suggested that this was in line with The Dark Knight in painting something more nihilistic and honest about the real world. Whatever the case may be, the film became the first R-Rated film to gross a billion dollars. As of this publication, it is also the only one. It was the unlikely success story that the Oscar season needed. As Phoenix began winning awards for his performance, it became clear that this would be a legacy win. 

The film launched a phenomenon globally. The most noteworthy thing was that it inspired people to visit New York where a famous dance scene took place. Now labeled "The Joker Stairs," many would reenact the scene while dressed as the character. Others would create memes of the movie where Phoenix danced down the stairs to a variety of songs. Finally, there were protests globally that featured people dressing as The Joker, spraypainting the walls and using him as a figure of protest. This happened in places like Lebanon, Chile, and China. It was abundantly clear that Joker was not just another comic book movie. It was seen as a radical form of change... whatever that entailed.

For better or worse, Joker became a phenomenon that created hundreds upon thousands of conversations. The fact that some call it a masterpiece while others think it's an abomination only showed how effective the film was at evoking a tone. If nothing else, it was the perfect antithesis to the Avengers: Endgame campaign, showing something more ideal to Oscar voters from the dramatic weight loss to a story that had perceived social commentary. It was subversive and complex, testing the waters of a genre that many would argue had grown stale. It was also the start of Phoenix's redemption and ultimate Oscar win.

- The Payoff -

Everything worked out for Joker in the long run. On Oscar nominations day, it lead nominations with 11 total. Because of this, it also had many distinctive honors that included being the most nominated comic book movie in Oscar history (beating previous record holder Black Panther). It also became one of the most nominated films ever. In the course of one day, Phillips went from The Hangover guy to a four-time Oscar nominee, including Best Director. Phoenix was on track to win. If anything suggested that comic book movies were becoming legitimized, it was this. Meanwhile, Avengers: Endgame failed to earn any significant nominations outside of Best Visual Effects. 

Another thing to note is that with her win for Best Original Score, Hildur Guonadottir became the first woman to win the category, beating perennial bridesmaid and expected winner Thomas Newman (1917). It was also the second consecutive year that a superhero score won the category following Ludwig Goransson (Black Panther). By the time that Phoenix won his Oscar, it was clear that while Joker was the most popular movie, Parasite was designed to be the winner because of how it impacted audiences on a global scale in a different way.

Phoenix's speech came from a place of personal concern. Like he had the entire season, his speech included a political text that called for change. He would also give a heart-wrenching shoutout to his brother River Phoenix, who tragically died when they were teenagers. Overall, it was the perfect piece of activism mixed with sentimentality. While the film otherwise came up short, it was clear that this was a moment to recognize an actor who The Academy had wanted to recognize for decades but needed a proper outlet. Love or hate the performance, it definitely was great to put Phoenix among the winner's circle.

What's amazing is that even if the film now came out over a year ago, Joker continues to impact conversation, having fervent fans still making memes and having discussions about various scenes. Is this the turn of comic book movies or even Phillips' career? It's hard to say. In the time since, D.C. has released another R-Rated movie in Birds of Prey (featuring a reference to Leto's Joker). They're continuing to experiment with genres and styles, and that alone is exciting. Is this the best Joker interpretation? Nobody can agree on that. It's what's great about the character, of comic books. They're able to mean so many different things to everyone and the form of expression is malleable. It's opening a door that will hopefully become old hat by the time The Academy turns 100 in a few years. One could hope.