“Joker” director Todd Phillips seems frustrated that his signature brand of bro humor isn’t cool anymore.
The director who made a name for himself with comedies like 2003’s “Old School” and 2009’s “The Hangover” told Vanity Fair for its November cover story that he is leaving comedy behind because of “woke culture.”
Phillips said in the feature published Tuesday:
“Go try to be funny nowadays with this woke culture. There were articles written about why comedies don’t work anymore — I’ll tell you why, because all the fucking funny guys are like, ’Fuck this shit, because I don’t want to offend you. It’s hard to argue with 30 million people on Twitter. You just can’t do it, right? So you just go, ‘I’m out.’ I’m out, and you know what? With all my comedies — I think that what comedies in general all have in common — is they’re irreverent. So I go, ‘How do I do something irreverent, but fuck comedy? Oh I know, let’s take the comic book movie universe and turn it on its head with this.’ And so that’s really where that came from.”
The result was “The Joker,” a dark superhero film with little CGI and a plot that the magazine described as a “critique of Hollywood” that centers around “an alienated white guy whose failure to be funny drives him into a vengeful rage.”
People on Twitter had no time for Phillips’ remarks.
And although some may argue that the backlash against Phillips proves the director’s point, is it really a bad thing that people don’t want to watch comedies riddled with homophobic slurs and simulated baby masturbation anymore?
REAL LIFE. REAL NEWS. REAL VOICES.
Help us tell more of the stories that matter from voices that too often remain unheard.