Joker is a lot of things to a lot of people. But at its core, it’s also a movie that takes a cartoonish clown villain incredibly, incredibly seriously. Saturday Night Live decided last night to give that treatment to another absurd bad guy.
Enter Oscar. A humble garbage man. A little unstable. A little unhappy. Maybe, some would even say, grouchy. Starring David Harbour doing a pretty impressive Joaquin Phoenix impression, Grouch is just what we need in 2019: stupid, nihilistic, and self-indulgently dark.
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— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) October 13, 2019
Honestly, this is a great parody, if only because it showcases how utterly ridiculous a project Joker is at its core. And that’s not meant as a condemnation, exactly: ridiculous projects, handled earnestly, can often be very good. But a dark, gritty story about the evils of society starring a comic book clown or, y’know, Oscar the Grouch, is still fundamentally ridiculous.
With that said, I would definitely watch Grouch. I don’t know if I’d like it. But I’d watch it.
Joker is in theatres now, if you dare.
[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/10/joker-review-australia/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/jokerposter-410×231.jpg” title=”Joker: The Gizmodo Australia Review” excerpt=”Todd Phillips’ Joker is a complex movie. As we’ve already seen, it’s also a divisive movie. Joker sure will provoke — but whether the dark message of the movie will have a negative impact on culture, and the rise of violent young men, remains to be seen. To tease out the film and its dangerous potential, Gizmodo Australia’s Leah Williams and Sarah Basford sat down to discuss their thoughts.”]