(8/8/09)
The Laughing Fish perpetuates an image of the Joker that equates horror with comedy and evil with immortality, and yet doesn't take any of the easy shortcuts that befall so many depictions of such figures in film or literature. Paul Dini's script does not condescend to the Joker's victims, nor does it invite us to relish his horrific actions; it allows the terror to become a decorative component of a brash, discordant piano and shifty shadows that obscure perception and seem to morph on a whim--ever more unsettling than blunt shocks or spurts of violence--and then tempts us to laugh at it, the laughter never symptomatic of hyper-aware desensitization or jaundiced post-modernism.
The Laughing Fish is a tonal contradiction that subjugates the Joker's comic atrocities to an occult atmosphere and never quite allows any of its oft-hilarious jokes to go down easy. Various punchlines are met with bitter eruptions of frustration--Batman's punching the TV set after Joker's fifties television ad or a brutal beat-down after a pithy one-liner--or mutual disgust.
The story is built on Batman’s statement that the Joker follows no logic other than his own. Heists mean nothing to him. He is the Clown Prince of Crime; it is his duty to transcend the operations of the common criminal and put a unique and personal stamp on all of his criminal actions. And so he embarks on a convoluted scheme to patent fish products infected by his laughing toxin, and even though he is fully aware that bumping off pencil pushers is far more difficult than simply robbing a bank, he is also aware that it is far more fun.
Though The Laughing Fish is far less graphic than The Return of the Joker, the Joker’s greatest appearance, it follows in the tradition of Joker’s Favor by offering us a Joker who preys coldly on the common man. Francis’ plea that he never once harmed the Joker echoes Charlie Collins and the mess he finds himself in for a slight instance of road rage. But Joker’s Favor did not carry through on its suspense as The Laughing Fish does. Yes, Charlie Collins is preyed upon by the Joker, and yes he is locked in a banquet where it seems that he will be the victim of an explosion, but the super-villainy was too high to feel that there was any danger, and the tacked on temple chase was so generic that it loosened any sense of terror. But when the Joker succeeds in incapacitating two bureaucrats, and when the final fight scene involves harsh blows with blunt objects set against a dark stormy sky, suddenly he does become a true menace.
It all goes back to the blurring of that line between darkness and comedy. Typically comic relief distracts us from the danger, as if it exists on some other plane of fictional reality. But Joker’s whoopee cushion alarm and his Three Stooges antics are all part of his sick twisted mindset. His psychosis yields both humor and dark demented violence, and never is evil so much fun as when the Joker supplies it.
The Laughing Fish boasts no psychological insight, nor is it a near-unparalleled visual spectacle. It is, however, the quintessential Joker story, perhaps in any medium. It offers humor, suspense, and a broken logic that ties everything together. Episodes like these are why I love the series.
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Some great episodes of the series don’t offer tragic character explorations or intense climaxes. Rather a good few offer a fun slice of comic book adventure. Using the Joker at his psychotic best, the ‘The Laughing Fish’ offers a great tale that contrasts the seemingly nonsensical crimes of the Joker with the unrelenting justice of Batman.
The basic story is something that would befit any Saturday morning action show: the Joker demands profit from the smiling fish he’s responsible for, so it’s up to Batman to stop him. There are two things that make it so perfect. The first is that it’s such a ridiculous crime. A guy like the Joker could easily just pull off a bank heist or hold someone for ransom. Instead, he wants to patent fish. It’s so ludicrous and inventive that it’s interesting to watch, and the Joker’s antics keep the plot entertaining the whole way through.
The second thing that makes this episode so great is the fact that it’s so dark. There is a freakish piano solo that plays throughout a lot of the scenes, we see two people undergo hideous transformations, and there is good reason to believe at the end of the episode that a shark devoured the Joker. Such an over-the-top crime seems to yield severe consequences, making for great contrast and as a result heightened dramatic appeal. It really is suspenseful waiting for the Joker’s unpredictable attack on poor G. Carl Francis, and it really is shocking as he alters his methods in taking down Jackson in an unexpected twist. The fact that such a happy villain with such a nutty scheme would disfigure such innocent and unassuming people is actually somewhat terrifying.
What I also love about the episode is that it’s actually funny. Joker doesn’t just have an overblown plan, but just about everything he says is worthy of laughter. The quips are abundant and the great facial expressions and voice acting adds a lot to the comedy, but there is nothing that makes me laugh so much as the absurd commercial the Joker and Harley put on for the Joker fish. The humor actually transcends pure humor because it actually serves an interesting purpose. It causes us to laugh with the villain, the man who is committing such horrible crimes. Batman doesn’t think anything the Joker says is funny; in fact, he finds it revolting. And yet somehow we love laughing alongside the Joker and his antics.
The animation is the one thing in this episode that is really pretty weak, Dong Yang yet again responsible for it. But it doesn’t quite bring down the episode, because the rest of the crew was so on top of everything. Bruce Timm’s outstanding direction provides some great visuals in light of the mediocre animation, while the music creates a chilling effect that more than compensates for what happens on screen.
The episode really is praiseworthy, with a perfect portrayal of the Joker and his every amusing insanity, as well as of Batman and his stringent unrelenting quest for justice and order. ‘The Laughing Fish’ remains a favorite of mine after so many years of having viewed it, and it is sure to continue to live on as one of the best episodes of the series in years to come.
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