Joker director Todd Phillips’ 10 films ranked, from worst to best, following his Venice Golden Lion win

At this year’s Venice International Film Festival, Todd Phillips walked away with the Golden Lion for his super-villain origin story Joker , starring Joaquin Phoenix. Not bad for a New York University Film School drop-out who started his career in music documentaries such as Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies (1993) and Bittersweet Motel (2000). A switch to comedy led to a very successful career and even an Oscar nomination for co-writing Borat, a film he was originally set to direct until he quit the project. Excluding this and his non-fiction work, we rank Phillips’ features films to date, from worst to best. 10. The Hangover Part III (2013) The third part of a trilogy can often suffer by comparison to its predecessors, but this cynical final instalment about the adventures of the so-called “Wolfpack” was a dud. “Has a claim to be the year’s worst star-driven movie,” wrote The New York Times, an assessment that is not far wrong, with Phillips and company on autopilot. The innocence of the first film had all but evaporated, with a story line that involved stolen gold and significantly more violence than the earlier films. There’s a decapitated giraffe scene, for heaven’s sake. Somehow the film made US$362 million worldwide, doubtless due to audience goodwill. 9. School For Scoundrels (2006) A forgettable remake of the British classic that starred Ian Carmichael and Terry-Thomas, Phillips’ romantic comedy featured Napoleon Dynamite’s Jon Heder as a parking-meter man who takes lessons in self-esteem from Billy Bob Thornton’s slick tutor, only for both to start squabbling over the same girl. The tit-for-tat plot is largely tiresome, despite appearances from Ben Stiller as a former pupil of Thornton’s Dr. P, and Sarah Silverman. Even the usually excellent Thornton is off colour here. 8. Road Trip (2000) Phillips’ feature debut came about after an encounter with legendary Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman, who encouraged the young director to co-write a comedy for his company. The result is Road Trip, an adolescent sex comedy made in the wake of hit movie American Pie, and featuring Seann William Scott, one of that film’s stars. The conceit to get the boys on the road – a sex tape sent to the wrong person – is hoary, but Phillips still manages to capture the lusty exuberance of youth. It’s not exactly Noël Coward; in fact, it’s not even as good as Euro Trip. But there’s a good scene with an evil pet snake. 7. The Hangover Part II (2011) Can lightning strike twice? Well, when Hollywood demands a sequel to a successful movie, it can. This time, the Wolfpack – Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Justin Bartha and Zack Galifianakis – travel to Thailand for a wedding. Phillips does not seem to care that we’re basically watching a re-run of the original, as the boys wake up in a seedy Bangkok hotel to find face tattoos, shaven heads, severed fingers and more besides. If you’re willing to overlook the past-its-sell-by-date feel, the film has some funny R-rated moments, including a drug-smuggling monkey. But it’s no surprise the original movie finishes way higher up this list. 6. Starsky & Hutch (2004) This update on the 1970s TV cop show arrived just as Hollywood was turning to classic television for inspiration (Charlie’s Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, etc). The plus here was that Phillips snagged Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson to play David Starsky and Ken “Hutch” Hutchinson, plus Snoop Dogg as the streetwise Huggy Bear. Rather than try to emulate the original show, Phillips just let Stiller and Wilson – fresh from their partnership in Zoolander – do their thing. It’s classic character comedy, thanks to Stiller’s undercover law-enforcer shouting “Do it! Do it!” every five minutes. 5. Old School (2003) Alongside Adam McKay and Judd Apatow, Phillips was listed by Details magazine as one of the “Frat Packagers”, an unofficial comedy group that featured the likes of Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell – all stars of this 2003 comedy about men trying to relive their college days by opening up a fraternity house. Only Phillips’ second feature, it featured the perennial theme in his work – the regressive man-child. Ferrell’s turn as the beer-chugging, party-loving Frank “The Tank” Ricard is up there with his best. 4. Due Date (2010) Phillips clearly loves the great American highway. This odd-couple road movie starts as Robert Downey Jr.’s expectant father Peter Highman is thrown off the plane set to take him to Los Angeles, where his wife is giving birth. With Peter forced to accept a shared ride with Zack Galifianakis’ aspiring actor, the other airline evictee, it becomes Phillips’ nod to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. There’s a mania to the story but a soft centre too, with Downey Jnr – by then embroiled in Tony Stark/Iron Man land – making a rare touchy-feely comic foray. The Grand Canyon scenes were also majestic. 3. War Dogs (2016) Inspired by the writings of Guy Lawson – a Rolling Stone article and a follow-up book – War Dogs saw Phillips move into darker terrain, while still keeping the comedic vibe that echoed through his previous work. The director’s first real-life story since his days in documentary, it’s a vibrant tale of two unlikely arms dealers – played by Miles Teller and former Frat Pack member Jonah Hill. Reviews were mixed, with critics uncertain about Phillips’ usual “men behaving badly” routine being applied to gun-runners. But he relished flexing his dramatic muscles, and it showed. 2. The Hangover (2009) For Phillips, The Hangover was hugely significant. Made for US$35 million, it took a staggering US$467 million around the world before winning Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes. It also helped forge his subsequent partnership with actor Bradley Cooper, whose career this film gave a kick-start to. But more than that, this box-fresh tale of a bachelor party in Las Vegas that goes wildly wrong was brilliantly executed. Tigers, tasers and Mike Tyson are just some of the things Cooper’s Phil and his fellow “Wolfpack” friends encounter, as they piece together their Rohypnol-addled memories from the night before like a woozy detective story. 1. Joker (2019) Phillips’ first foray into comic book terrain is an absolute masterstroke, reinvigorating a genre that Hollywood has seemingly milked for all its worth these past years. Joaquin Phoenix is sensational as the sad-sack clown Arthur Fleck, the Gotham resident who will eventually become Batman’s eponymous enemy. Borrowing liberally from the Martin Scorsese canon, in particular Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy, Phillips paints a bleak portrait a city rotten to the core, festering with anger and resentment. Political and punchy, nothing in Phillips’ back catalogue quite pointed to Joker, which is another reason why it feels so on the money. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook