Dark Knight + "bedtime stories in Hell" = Al Franken?
OK, Stolle is not around, but I'll (Jeff Kiger) step up and put this oddity out there.
Chatter about The Dark Knight Batman movie and Heath Ledger's creepy performance as The Joker as buzzing across the U.S.
One reviewer in San Francisco actually tied (loosely) the insane Joker performance to Minnesota politics. I, for one, did not see that one coming.
Here's the pertinent passage from SF Chronicle movie critic Mick LaSalle's review:
With his smeared lipstick and painted white face, he is every clown who ever terrified a child. He speaks in a measured, Middle American accent, enunciating his words carefully, a voice that could tell bedtime stories in hell. (He seems, actually, to be imitating Al Franken.)
Hhmm… It is hard to know how to respond to that.
I need to tip the hat to Steve Perry and the Minnesota Independent for discovering this.
Creepy, but I actually have thought for a long time that Al Franken looks a lot like "The Joker" mainly because of the exaggerated "upcurl" the corners of his mouth do. It seems like he's smiling, even when he's not.
Posted by: PLVulture | July 18, 2008 at 12:02 PM
It's too bad Minnesota doesn't have its own version of the fictitious Gotham City's Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane so Al could share a padded cell with his "twin."
Posted by: OdaSilva | July 18, 2008 at 09:54 PM
While it's true that Al Franken is a naturally friendly person--who approaches life with a positive attitude--the only jokers he'll make cry in their popcorn this November will be Norm Coleman and his sour-visaged supporters. As for implying that Al deserves to be in a padded cell for the criminally insane, it does make one wonder what passes for self-restraint in some people, especially those who call themselves "Republican Communications Officers."
Posted by: FrankWHawthorne | July 20, 2008 at 11:58 PM
"The Dark Night" is a dazzling movie and well worth the time and expense. Heath Ledger's Joker not only looks like Porn-O-Rama Al, he sounds like him as well. Another stark similarity is that the Joker is not funny at all, but scary and tormented.
Posted by: OdaSilva | July 21, 2008 at 02:51 PM
"Not funny at all, but scary and tormented." Hmmmm; sounds (disturbingly) like a certain "Communications" officer we know...
Posted by: FrankWHawthorne | July 21, 2008 at 07:35 PM
... or a (Toyota) Pious Librarian we'd rather forget.
Posted by: OdaSilva | July 21, 2008 at 11:59 PM
Hey, Jeff, I got that too. While I was reviewing the film last week, I made two notes: 1) The Joker’s mannerisms are John Malkovich’s, and 2) He sounds just like Al Franken. I’ll leave the political snipes to the others. :-)
Posted by: Chris Miksanek | July 22, 2008 at 08:48 AM
I had the same thoughts durring the film about Franken. I loved the performance but it did pull me form the film a bit. I did a goole search and got this link trying to see if i was the only one.
Posted by: Pete3 | July 29, 2008 at 10:20 AM
Let us not associate the Oscar worthy performance of Heath Ledger with the puerile antics of the misogynistic Al Franken.
Al Franken is the best and worst of everything the modern DFL could have hoped for. Rabidly anti Bush. (HOORAY!) Far Leftist. (ah... yeah!?) Out of touch with rural folk (farmers, suburbs) and very in tune with the urban variety. (welfare class, willfully ignorant eco-warriors, unionists, guilt filled anti-Capitalists)
Uh... what???
Hey, you picked him. I was there. I saw it happen at the Mayo Civic Center. You showed us your true colors. I saw all the placards a-flappin and heard the chants...
You laid down with dogs, and you wake up with fleas.
Better luck next time.
Posted by: wettap | August 14, 2008 at 10:43 PM
"I for one did not see that one coming"... are you kidding me? As soon as I heard his voice I thought of Franken. Seriously, just listen to their voices - they're IDENTICAL!
Posted by: The Joker | December 20, 2008 at 07:42 PM