When it comes to Joker, there's really not a lot to laugh about.

While many are focusing on the film's ongoing controversy and conversation about gun violence and safety, there's also another somewhat alarming Hollywood trend being highlighted in the press surrounding Joker's release that isn't getting as much attention as it should: the coverage of Joaquin Phoenix's 52-lb weight loss to play Arthur Fleck, the sad sack comedian who will eventually become Batman's ultimate foe.

Headline after headline (hey, including one from us) has documented and dissected the actor's extreme method of dropping the weight in order to inhabit the role, one that earned Phoenix an eight-minute standing ovation after the film's world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, some of the best reviews of his career, and, of course, Oscar buzz.

Before we go any further and delve into sensitive subject matter, if you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Eating Disorders Association helpline at 1-800-931-2237.

"Phoenix is a virtuoso of unleashed id. You don't dare look away from him," Rolling Stone raved.