Four Nerds

Well, it took me a while, but I've decided to weigh in on the Heath Ledger/ Joker "issue." My official position at this point is that, as of this writing, there is really nothing to say.

At this point the only thing that concerns me about Heath Ledger is the fact that he doesn't exactly fit the role physically. I mean, I don't really have much else to base my opinion on, from a performance basis at any rate. There's nothing he's done that would preclude him. I haven't seen anything that he was particularly horrible in. Sure, he's been in some bad movies, but bad movies aren't always the result of bad acting. Put it to you this way: Michael Caine was great as Alfred in Batman Begins. Michael Caine was also in Jaws 4.

As for Ledger, the problem is the fact that his face isn't long enough. He could pull of the grin, sure, but then again, so could I. Doesn't mean I could play the Joker. The Joker has a face that is long and gaunt, like his flesh has been pulled back on his skull, twisting it into that hideous smile. He's also got a thin, lanky body, almost like a doll. Crispin Glover's was bandied about for a while there, and I thought that he could probably do the job and do it well. Heath Ledger seems to be too bulky and his head's too wide. I thought the same thing about Jack Nicholson, except his bulk wasn't muscle.

So, we'll see.