The Hangover and Joker: The comedic evolution of Todd Phillips
JOKER (Joaquin Phoenix) © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. DC Comics.
Based on the past filmography of Todd Phillips and without close scrutinisation, it would appear as though Joker is a bold step in a completely new direction previously unexplored in the director's work. This is not entirely unfounded. Indeed, a perusal of his prior movies exude the impression that Phillips primarily makes so-called 'genre films'; that is to say, it appears his films fit neatly into a box, that when a viewer watches a film and see the words "Directed by Todd Phillips" they know more or less what they're going to be in for — in his case, comedies with edge. Does Joker really share a significant enough number of traits with Phillips's precursory work for it to be considered a natural progression?
The Hangover exemplifies the 'genre film' better than possibly any other film made by Phillips; such is a film easily written off as irrelevant to his output ten years down the line. It largely follows three protagonists played by Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms. Even the casting reflects the overall tone of the movie with surprising accuracy; take Galifianakis, famous for his offbeat comic show — and now NETFLIX Original — Between Two Ferns, which revels in its idiosyncratic awkwardness. Cooper is no stranger to darkly funny content either, with previous credits including black comedy American Hustle, which delved into its themes headfirst with assertive irreverence.
A runaway hit at release, The Hangover explored the psyches of its outcast, male characters. Nevertheless, it did not implore the audience to feel sorry for them, instead of inviting the viewer to engage in the antics of its chaotic leads. The script is coated in schadenfreude and near apathy for its battered cast. When the characters encounter obstacles, we are not expected to feel sorry for them and are directed instead to laugh. The Hangover, in a way, releases catharsis by bringing pain to its characters.
THE HANGOVER (Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms) © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc
Joker seems like a complete reversal of this idea, less changing the course of the proverbial vehicle than sending it into a complete 180°. Instead of presenting its characters as punching bags to gouge entertainment from, Joker decides on presenting its titular character — played by Joaquin Phoenix — with more humanity. It intends to provoke sympathy for the character. If The Hangover is a darkly comedic movie then Joker is a comically dark one, where the primary aim is not to make the viewer laugh but to serve this as a sideshow to the main event, which in this case is the gradual psychotic breakdown of its protagonist. A by-product of this is when Phillips attempts to inject humour into the film it catches the viewer off-guard, leaving them uncomfortable and with a feeling of not only "should I be finding this funny?" but "should I be allowed to find this funny?"
That is not to say that the films present themselves as polar opposites to each other and this is where threads connecting both The Hangover and Joker can really be dissected. Oftentimes, in fact, scenes from Joker feel like they run in parallel to The Hangover, as if a scene from the former could have been ripped from the latter. The scene with the longest-lingering aftertaste from Joker could very well be the scene where the character of Randall (Arthur Fleck) is murdered by the Joker. In this scene, his co-worker Gary has to escape the apartment where Randall has just been killed. Phillips sets up a gag in where Gary has to wait for Arthur to open the door and the punchline is that since Gary is a little person, he cannot reach the lock to let himself out. Although the ethics of this are divisive, it undeniably harkens back to the crassness of some of Phillips's earlier films when compared with the more light-hearted frivolity underscored by a scene later in the movie where Arthur walks into a glass door — a simple scene of unexpected slapstick set up to surprise the viewer.
JOKER (Joaquin Phoenix) © 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. DC Comics.
Purposefully placed to maximise impact, it is evident that Phillips has pulled inspiration from some of his earlier work in order to deliver shock value to the viewer from something completely silly and we need to look no further than The Hangover to realise this. Even the characters we follow are interconnected. In Joker, Arthur Fleck is a man outcasted by society — pessimistic, hopeless and isolated. The comedic overtones of The Hangover may hide it but the protagonists of that movie are also outcasts, the humour is derived from their ineptitude, hopelessness and their inability to fit in.
Where Phillips previously put brashness front and centre in his films, Joker lets its human subject take the limelight, with the more off-colour humour taking a back seat. Nevertheless, do not be fooled into thinking Phillips has left this entirely in the past. Regardless of Phillips' comments about "woke culture" inhibiting his ability to make comedies — an altogether different discussion in its own right and one of the main facets both adding to and complicating discussion surrounding the film — he simply cannot deny that Joker exhibits at least some tendencies of his previous cinematic outings, for better or for worse. His Hangover days may be behind him but more than just traces of the franchise's disruptive approach remain, embedded within the heart of Phillips‘a cinematic lexicon.