Take It Back, Jack

I seem to be in the 1% minority of people who are not kissing Jack Nicholson's feet in humble gratitude for his performance as the Joker in Batman. I loved the movie when I was a kid, and I thought Jack Nicholson was great. I was sufficiently terrified. I was blinded by his Jack Nicholson-ness for years. I thought he was the bee's knees as the Joker, too. I don't remember when exactly it happened, but in the past couple years, I have become disenchanted with Tim Burton's Batman movies. I think it has a lot to do with Christopher Nolan finally getting it 100% right. Tim Burton's movies shouldn't be as revered as they are. They're okay, but they're sort of trivial and really dated. Speaking of trivial and dated, let's talk about Jack Nicholson.

Like I said, I don't know when exactly it was, but I recently realized that hey, his performance as the Joker really isn't that great after all. In fact, it's lazy. He does nothing extraordinary. He's just being himself! It's not deep or special or anything. Seeing what Heath Ledger has done with the Joker, even in just the trailer, is a revelation. It makes Jack Nicholson's version look pathetic. And that's exactly what I think Nicholson was afraid of...and why he's being such an asshole about Heath Ledger now.

After Heath Ledger died, some media scumbags caught up with Nicholson outside of a restaurant to get his opinion. His reaction? "I told him so." You've got to be kidding me. Apparently, Nicholson claims that he "warned" Ledger about playing the Joker and about the toll it would take on him. Please! I bet Jack Nicholson didn't lose one second of sleep over his performance. I doubt it was emotionally strenuous for him at all. I think Nicholson is making it up, because people claim Ledger never spoke with him. Whether he's making it up or not, the very idea that he would caution him against it is infuriating. If he told him that, how dare he? If he's just saying that he told him that, or if he even thought about saying that to him, what right does he have? The only conceivable reason he would tell him that would be to save his own face. His own stupid, smiling face. He was afraid Ledger would break the spell. And guess what? He has. Too bad, Jack. Ledger outshines you about a million percent. What a small, selfish thing to say. Leave Heath Ledger alone.

"I told him so"?! What the hell is that? That's his reaction to the death of Hollywood's most promising talent? "I told him so"?! Clearly, being in The Bucket List has made him go senile. What an insensitive fool. I have lost so much respect for Jack Nicholson. Now, I will always remember him as a joker, but not because of any role.