Harley Quinn is one of the best examples of a successful breakout character. The character was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini for the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series. The character proved such a hit that it paved the way for her migration to comics, movies, and even her own animated series.
Heck, she was even featured as a protagonist alongside Batman in the aptly-titled 2017 animated movie Batman and Harley Quinn. But, uh, here’s the thing. The film was terrible and treated her like trash. This is strange given that one of her co-creators (Bruce Timm) headed its production. Overall, you’re not missing much by passing up this animated mess. Here are ten scenes showing why that is…
10) The Annoying Post-Credits Sequence
You’re kind of sick of Batman & Harley Quinn by the movie’s third act – let alone its end credits. But (incredibly) patient viewers who wait till the end will be rewarded. Actually, I just lied. You’ll just be punished a little more with a dragged-out ‘comedy’ sequence.
The sequence in question reveals that Harley is now a successful talk show host called ‘Dr. Quinn’. Here, she converses with her guest about his mental health problems before pitting him against an obstacle course. Those who beat the obstacle course, she says, win a year of health insurance.
The sequence cuts between the poor man failing at the course while Harley comedically spurts out ‘positive thinking’ cliches. And the already-unfunny joke drags on long past its welcome. Best to turn the film off now if you haven’t already.
9) The Swamp Thing Appears…And Then Disappears
As if to remind us that the film’s narrative never mattered, the ending has Swamp Thing randomly appear for two minutes, telling Floronic Man that while his cause is noble, his methods are ignoble. He then promptly disappears, deeming it not his place to judge or interfere. Quinn is just as perplexed as us when the hero retreats, leaving Floronic Man to his evil machinations.
Okay, what just happened? And what exactly were Bruce Timm and his cohorts smoking during the film’s writing process? They even went so far as to add an out-of-place orchestral score to the Swamp Thing’s appearance. The cameo is absurd and rushed alongside the ending, and it feels like no effort was put into creating a satisfying resolution to the plot.
8) Harley Quinn Sings ‘Hanging on the Telephone’
The idea of Harley doing karaoke is not completely unfeasible. In fact, given the character’s playful humor, it makes sense and would be fun, at least in theory. Alas, where Batman & Harley is concerned, it doesn’t quite work well in practice.
To the film’s credit, Harley sings it in an out-of-tune fashion that is endearing and true to her character. The problem is, this Blondie cover goes on for far too long and overstays its welcome, not least because Harley’s voice becomes grating. To top it all off, the writers deemed it necessary that Harley show off her boobs to the audience in a moment of unnecessary sexualization.
7) Sarge Steel’s Awkward Throwaway Line
Is this movie the product of a team of miscreant adolescents? If you didn’t look up who made this, you’d be forgiven for thinking so. In a throwaway line, Sarge Steel thanks Batman for helping with a recent case concerning the League of Assassins. “But man,” he says, “That Lady Shiva – I’d like a piece of that pie, know what I mean?”
Batman just stares nonchalantly, which at least confirms this joke was meant to be made at Steel’s expense. However, the throwaway line feels cheaply inserted for a quick laugh and adds nothing to the overall narrative. And when you put it in context with the sexual depictions of this film, you get the eerie impression that’s Bruce Timm talking.
6) Harley Begging Batman to Take Her to Face Ivy
In another attempt at humor, Batman and Harley Quinn give us a painful monologue from Harley about an irrelevant childhood memory of her cat. Story-wise, this is Harley’s attempt to get Batman to take her along to the final confrontation with Poison Ivy and Florescent Man.
“Once I begged my mom for a cat, but I left the back door open and – and it ran away.” Because this moment occurs in the third act of a movie that’s been tough to sit through, this monologue just comes across as more mindless prattle that slows the pace down. Luckily, at this point, the end isn’t too far.
5) Harley Tries To Comfort the Dying Scientist
One credit given to this film is that it at least attempts to show us different shades of Harley’s character. For example, in the scene where Dr. Goldblum is dying, Harley attempts to comfort him by telling him to go see her grandmother once he reaches heaven.
However, the scene fails for two reasons. Firstly, it isn’t emotional, the script too ridiculous, Melissa Rauch’s portrayal too hammy. Secondly, it isn’t funny, either (because the script is too ridiculous, Melissa Rauch’s portrayal too hammy). It’s a perfect representation of the film whole, which struggles to achieve competence in either comedy or drama.
4) Harley Quinn Farting in the Batmobile
When Batman & Harley Quinn isn’t visually bringing Bruce Timm’s erotic fantasies to life, it’s making us suffer from its bad attempt at humor. Almost all of its jokes fall flat, leaving you either cringing or rolling your eyes. Harley farting in the Batmobile is perhaps a metaphor for the quality of this film whole.
After the fart, Batman merely keeps his stoic composure, claiming that it “smells like discipline.” Wow, just wow. It’s the kind of humor one might expect from a ten-year-old. And it only took us a PG-13-rated Batman animated movie to get here…
3) Poison Ivy Giving Up the Ghost
Poison Ivy is one of the film’s main antagonists. She is teaming up alongside Jason Woodroe to kill all of humankind and make the Earth a plant-only paradise via a dead scientist’s lab experiment. As far as the story goes, this aligns with Ivy’s typical values as she loves her plants above all else. Therefore, her plan makes sense in terms of her character.
But then, at the end of the film, she changes her mind. Why? Because Harley…breaks into tears. Wow. This is such a heel-face turn that it instantly topples over everything the film builds up to that point. The fact that it only takes Harley’s tears to convince her to rethink her plan is very unlike Ivy’s character, coming across as cheaply and lazily written.
2) Harley Getting It On with Nightwing
There are a ton of awkward scenes in Batman & Harley Quinn. But Harley’s capture of Nightwing easily fits somewhere within the film’s top three. After knocking him unconscious during a fight, Quinn ties him to her bed in her apartment. Cue Harley stripping down to her undergarments, ready to ‘wing it’ on the night.
Three things are terrible about this scene. Firstly, it seems like a cheap opportunity for the filmmakers to engage in some senseless male gaze re: Harley. Secondly, the writers kinda cheapen Nightwing’s character by having him admit he wouldn’t mind doing ‘the deed’ with Harley. Thirdly, it kind of cheapens Harley’s character as well (although the cheapening of her character is frequent throughout the movie’s runtime).
1) The ‘Cop A Feel’ Restaurant Scene
Batman & Harley Quinn’s PG-13 movie rating gave Bruce Timm and Co. the green light for harsher language, violence, and sexual references. Unfortunately, they didn’t use their newfound freedom particularly well. Rather, they wasted it on the unnecessary sexualization of Harley Quinn.
Her introductory scene is a prime example. The audience is ‘treated’ to an upskirt shot of her underwear, shortly before a perverted male customer attempts to ‘cop a feel.’ While Quinn promptly takes him down before he succeeds, the scene still leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth. What is the point of this scene? It certainly doesn’t tell us anything about Quinn’s character, nor does it serve the story any.
One wonders whether the filmmakers were showing off what they could get away with now with their PG-13 rating. “Look, people,” it cries, “This is a Batman cartoon for grown-ups!” And yet, ironically, its cheap and forced insertion is far more immaturely done than anything done in the kid-friendly animated series.
Alas, this is just the opinion of one writer. Do you agree or disagree with the notion that Batman & Harley Quinn is a bad movie? Have you watched all the Batman movies? Tell us about it in the comments below!
