They did. They really did it. They made a Joker solo movie. Joaquin Phoenix stars, Todd Phillips directs. The discourse surrounding this dark, realistic, polarizing, award-winning film about a comic book clown who loves crime has been absolutely unbearable. That’s Joker’s trick. So all that’s left do now is see the damn thing for ourselves. Or wait for Batman.
Watch these movies before Joker.
The King of Comedy
Joker is such a riff on Martin Scorsese movies it’s not even funny. And its most specific homage is to the dark farce The King of Comedy, where Robert De Niro plays a failed comedian hopelessly obsessed with a talk show host. Now, Robert De Niro is the talk show host, and the Joker is obsessed with him.
The Dark Knight
Forget all the incels who take the Joker’s nihilism too seriously, The Dark Knight is still a fantastic movie and proof that Christopher Nolan’s serious take on Batman and Gotham as a whole is absolutely artistically valid. “Grim and gritty” tones are only bad when the execution is bad. And yes, a big reason for its success is the late Heath ledger’s masterful performance as the clown who loves crime.
Taxi Driver
Joker’s other Scorsese obsession is the intense thriller Taxi Driver, one of De Niro’s most iconic roles. Imagine a violent, repressed, unstable dude who lashes out at the unequal New York society that misunderstands him. Now imagine that dude was a clown who loves crime.
The Man Who Laughs
The Man Who Laughs is a 1928 silent romantic drama based on a Victor Hugo novel. That’s enough of a film history reason to see it. But we put it on this list because Conrad Veidt as the permanently grinning Gwynplaine is the visual inspiration for the Joker character in the first place. And once you see it, it’s wild how you can’t unsee it.
The Master
Joaquin Phoenix’s undeniable talent as an actor is a big reason why you just can’t dismiss Joker out of hand. And if you want to see him make you laugh, mesmerize you, and also terrify you, check out his painful unhinged performance as traumatized and perpetually drunk WWII veteran Freddie Quell in The Master. It’s secretly a Scientology origins movie.
The Hangover Part II
Before Joker, director Todd Phillips was at the top of the comedy A-list with The Hangover. And that’s a pretty good, funny movie. But the sequel should’ve let us know how much of a weird scumbag this guy really is, perfect for Joker. While the amnesia premise is basically identical, the shift from Vegas to Thailand brings with it dirtier, grimier, nastier, aesthetic that’s so viscerally upsetting.
I’m Still Here
The actual Joker wishes he came up with a public grift as funny and weird as Joaquin Phoenix in I’m Still Here. This stunt mockumentary had Phoenix publicly announcing his retirement from acting and growing out a caveman beard to become a rapper. He did real interviews, went on real tours, and kept up the lie so completely many were convinced it was true. It was to show the price of fame or something? At the time I hoped it would blow up his career so much that the lie accidentally became real.
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