Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn) has is a delightfully bizarre adventure. Its dark story contains plenty of violent action sequences and unfair plot turns, while in between moments of levity prevent the story from becoming overly dour. Even then, most of the jokes rely on the characters’ extreme personalities.
It is a risky vibe to display, but Birds of Prey pulls it off excellently. To celebrate the unique punk rock aesthetic from DC’s female-led, R-rated flick, the following list will put the most heartbreaking moments side by side with the funniest. At the end of the day, both sides of the coin compliment each other, with the contrast making audiences more appreciative of both the tragic and the humorous.
Heartbreaking: Bertinelli Crime Family
Huntress’s origins go back to her childhood when her whole family was massacred. She was marked for death too, but survived the shooting and one of the assassins took pity on her, taking the girl to Italy where she trained throughout her youth.
She would eventually reap vengeance without breaking a sweat, though her social skills paid a price. One could say several of her family members deserved it, but many were innocent relatives and children.
Funniest: Huntress’s Social Awkwardness
Huntress’s prowess with a crossbow and knife earns the other leads’ respect, because heaven knows she did not win their favor with her people skills.
She has intense rage issues stemming from her dark past, something which manifests itself in several comedic moments, whether it be her dialog or going overkill when dispatching some bad guys. In real life we’d certainly recommend some professional help for Huntress. In a movie, these are just the traits a vigilante needs.
Heartbreaking: The Breakfast Sandwich
After a rough night of drinking and blowing up the chemical plant where she first proved her love to Joker, all Harley wants to do in the morning is eat the world’s best breakfast sandwich. Before she takes the first bite, Renee Montoya spots her on the street, triggering a pursuit.
Several times over, Harley thinks she is in the clear and about the take a bite before someone else with a grievance shows up. By the end of the chase, the tasty delicacy ends up scattered all over the dirty Gotham street, leaving the protagonist in tears.
Funniest: The Introduction
Birds of Prey wastes no time in establishing its tone with a fast-paced introduction where Harley updates the audience on her current status. It is laced with jokes from both her narration and the action on screen.
One moment she comically refers to the moment of her conception as starting from the beginning, and in the next, she is feeding an overzealous exotic pet store employee to one of his hyenas which she takes home as a pet. Anybody more disgusted than amused by the latter should know the movie might not be for them.
Heartbreaking: Making The Woman Dance On The Table
While receiving upsetting news at his club, Roman Sionis, played by Ewan McGregor, gets annoyed by a woman laughing at a nearby table. In retaliation, he forces the woman to stand on her table and dance.
As if this isn’t humiliating enough, the character asks one of the men with the women to cut her dress off with a knife. The discomfort through the whole scene makes the audience hatred towards Sionis flare up, while revealing more about the villain’s personality and attitude towards women.
Funniest: Killing The Frida Kahlo Assassin
After escaping the police station with Cassandra Cain, Harley is pursued on a freeway by an assassin with a bizarre resemblance to Frida Kahlo. There’s no reason for her to look like this but for the odd bit of humor. It shows how weird Gotham’s underworld can get.
We’d ask her how she fell into a life of crime, but Harley dispenses of the killer via dynamite shortly after the chase begins.
Heartbreaking: Mr. Keo’s Family
When Mr. Keo, a fellow crime boss, refuses to make a deal with Roman Sionis, the villain decides to send the rest of Gotham a message by kidnapping the man and his family.
While Mr. Keo, his wife, and daughter are hanging upside down, Sionis instructs his henchman, Victor Zsasz, to cut off the patriarch’s face. He then immediately takes care of the wife afterwards. Sionis decides to spare the daughter, but the girl’s tears produce a snot bubble, which causes Sionis to recoil in disgust and change his mind. The last kill is off camera, though the implication is enough for audiences to feel the full extent of the antagonist’s cruelty.
Funniest: Cassandra Telling Harley About The Diamond
When caught for picking pockets, Cassandra swallows the diamond she stole from Victor Zsasz before the police confiscate it. Harley breaks it into the station, dispatches of most of the cops non lethally and takes Cassandra without knowing this.
When the chase ends, Cassandra finally fesses up, repeating the truth few times for the protagonist to properly process the information. The punchline comes Harley quickly glances at the camera before cutting to a super market where she fills a shopping cart with laxatives.
Heartbreaking: The Restaurant Owner
Harley’s only friend in Gotham after breaking up with Joker is an elderly restaurant owner who lets her crash in an apartment above the business. At least she thought he was her friend, because he eventually sells her out to the thugs who want her dead.
This is Harley’s lowest low, causing her to seriously consider selling out Cassandra Cain to Roman for a chance at living and getting the target off her back. Fortunately, everything works out in the end.
Funniest: Harley Making Fun Of Sionis
While in Sionis’s custody, Harley awaits brutal torture and almost certain death. When Sionis finally comes down to begin the painful session, Harley bemoans how he is going to slowly explain his evil plans before killing her, along with various other forms of mockery.
This upsets Sionis, who wants to be feared and taken seriously, to no end. Normally one advises against antagonizing a torturer, but Harley Quinn knows no such boundaries.
Next: Top 10 Badass Moments From The Birds Of Prey
