It’s supposed to be self-effacing. Dangerfield’s playing a character you’re supposed to recognize as an obnoxious, abrasive loser.

It’s like watching Jon Arbuckle fuck up on a date or Al Bundy fail at business. You’re not supposed to be rooting for these guys, you’re supposed to be laughing at them.

In the same way that Batman shifted from this 70s era Sci-fi Action Comedy to a 00s Grimdark thriller/horror, we’ve lost any sense of humility or self-deprecation. All these people lining up in excitement over a Joker that isn’t funny.