Why Brad Pitt’s Meet Joe Black Is Trending Right Now
More than two decades ago, Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins starred in Meet Joe Black, a movie that no one cared about at the time—it made just $44 million domestically on its $90 million budget, according to IndieWire, and $143 million worldwide, and its current Rotten Tomatoes score is a middling 51 percent, neither good enough to be good nor bad enough to be bad-good. Nevertheless, in the year 2019, Meet Joe Black is, improbably, having a moment again.
Specifically, a minute-and-a-half-long clip from the movie has been making the rounds on Twitter since it was posted Thursday. In the scene, Joe Black (Pitt) parts ways with a woman he’s just met at a coffee shop; as they walk in opposite directions, they keep looking back at each other (many, many times, too many times). Pitt steps into the street against the light—reckless!—before turning back one more time; a car honks and he’s plowed down in the middle of the road, bouncing off first one car and then another. “This is the most bonkers one minute of a movie that I have ever seen,” the original poster put it, accurately.
Another truly bonkers fact about this movie is that it runs more than three hours—upon viewing the clip, a masterclass in inefficiency, among other things, you can see why—and its director, Martin Brest, who had been previously nominated for an Oscar for Scent of a Woman, the movie that won Al Pacino his Best Actor award. Brad Pitt plays…death incarnate.
It has since been liked nearly 100,000 times and retweeted almost 25,000 time; more importantly, it’s sparked (surprisingly nuanced) debates over which Brad Pitt is the hottest Brad Pitt, reminded us of how Brad Pitt once dated Thandie Newton, and resuscitated discussions of Meet Joe Black’s truly appalling patois moment. See a few of the best reactions to a two-decade-old meme in the making below.
Related: Those Brad Pitt–Charlize Theron Dating Rumors Are Probably Not That True
A Photographic Guide To Everyone Brad Pitt Has Dated
A pre-divorce Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt arrive at the premiere of By The Sea in Hollywood, in November 2015. The couple were together from 2005-2016.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie attend the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence and Conflict in London in June 2014.The couple were together from 2005-2016.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who met on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, arrive for the premiere of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). The couple were together from 2005-2016.
Where it all began: Brad Pitt and then-girlfriend Robin Givens in Los Angeles. The couple were together from 1986-1987.
Actress Shalene McCall and Brad Pitt enjoyed a brief dalliance after meeting on the set of TV show Windmills of the Gods. The couple dated in 1987.
McCall and Pitt are again spotted in Beverly Hills. The couple dated in 1987.
Brad Pitt and Jill Schoelen, who dated for one year, are spotted by paparazzi. The couple were together from 1988-1989.
On-set co-stars, Brad Pitt and Jill Schoelen enjoyed a brief relationship that drew great media attention. The couple dated in 1987.
Brad Pitt and Jill Schoelen at the 20/20 Club in Los Angeles. The couple dated in 1987.
Brad Pitt & Christina Applegate during 1989 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. The couple were together from 1988-1989.
Christina Applegate and Brad Pitt spotted again in 1989. The couple were together from 1988-1989.
Brad Pitt and actress Juliette Lewis enjoyed a lengthy long relationship in the public eye. Here they are in 1991. The couple were together from 1989-1993.
Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis at the AMC Theater in Santa Monica, for the premiere of Thelma & Louise (1991). The couple were together from 1989-1993.
Brad and Gwyneth Paltrow attend the Hamlet Broadway Play Opening Night Performance in 1995, in New York City. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Pitt, 1996. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Brad Pitt and girlfriend actress Gwyneth Paltrow arrive before the 68th Annual Academy Awards on March 25, 1996 in Los Angeles, California. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Brad Pitt and actress Gwyneth Paltrow attend The Devil’s Own New York City premiere on March 13, 1997, in New York City. The couple were together from 1994-1997.
Actress Claire Forlani and actor Brad Pitt attend the 50th Annual Writers Guild of America Awards in 1998, in Beverly Hills, California. The couple dated in 1998.
Brad and Jennifer attend the Rock Star premiere in 2001 in Hollywood. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
Actress Jennifer Aniston and actor Brad Pitt attend The Mexican Westwood premiere in 2001. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, married for five years, appear here at the 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, in 1999. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
The couple, thought to be an American institution, divorced in 2005. Here the couple make an appearance at the 59th Annual Golden Globe Awards. The couple were together from 1998-2005.
