JOKER (2019) TRAILER, Song: Johnny Mathis - Small World (1959)

I've seen the trailers for the coming box office giant, Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix and am quite impressed. I believe this film will dwarf all comic book superhero and comic book villain films ever made since the debut of Superman in 1978. It has something no other film in the genre has ever had (or ever had much of): a disturbing psychological portrait of how one of comic book's greatest villains began as a normal man and descended into madness. Little is known about this film other than what is revealed in the trailers, so nothing I write here can possibly be perceived as a spoiler. It appears there are at least two tragic deaths in his life: his wife and then his mother. In addition, his art, the art of comedy, sets him up as a victim of some really horrific bullying and physical assaults. What we see is a person of light drowning in a darkness not of his own making, proving it is true: society creates its own monsters and such people are seldom self-starters.

The music that has apparently been settled on for a theme is "Smile" as sung by Jimmy Durante (1964), although the orchestral accompaniment is as dark and ironic as music can imaginably get for a pop song of this kind. It appears "Laughing" by Guess Who had originally been considered as evidenced in older trailers. "Smile" works for me; I hope they do not change it. Appearing in theaters this October 4, 2019.

I selected some of the more endearing moments from the film, as best as I could, including scenes with the wife who apparently dies of cancer and a couple of new love interests for the future Joker, come too late, one played by Zazie Beetz. I have left some of the darkness in as well, making this yet another ironic trailer set to the music of crooner Johnny Mathis and his summer of 1959 hit, "Small World" (with the repetitive lines "Funny isn't it. Funny isn't it? Small and funny and fine"). I used to hear this song a lot when I was a kid, and would have never dreamed that in the far off future I would be using it in just this way. So it goes with so many of the songs I have turned into videos.

"Small World" peaked at #19 on the Cash Box Top 100 on August 15, 1959 for two consecutive weeks (charted at #20 on Billboard).