It occurs to me that for some bizarre reason the saga of San Diego Mayor Bob Filner is best played out with some clips of Jack Nicholson in several of his classic roles:
First Tim Burton’s iconic dark thriller, The Batman, where Nicholson’s portrayal of arch-villian “The Joker” steals the show. The Joker’s uncanny resemblance to Filner matched by the idea that, like the Joker, Filner is battling some inner-demons that have made him a monster.
As the accusations were made, Filner quickly made it clear he had no plans what-so-ever to resign. From his first statement he attempted to dismiss accusations, “so that the vision I have for our city’s future can be realized.” The hubris coming from the Mayor given the gravity of the allegations of assault, battery and harassment against him bring to light yet another famous Nicholson role – the smug and arrogant Colonel Nathan R. Jessep, in the 1992 classic, A Few Good Men. Jessup violates the law as the Commander of the U.S. Naval Air Station at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He’s so full of himself that confronted with his own illegal behavior, he cannot even recognize it for what it is…
In 1975, Nicholson stole the show with his role of the institutionalized R.P. McMurphy in the film One Flew Over the Kuckoo’s Nest. This clip comes to mind as Mayor Filner has just checked himself in for full-time therapy at a clinic…
For good measure, as this saga continues to unfold one cannot help but wonder if the in the end the freaky Bob Filner will go off into the sunset, having completely snapped…