The American Psycho Card Scene With Pokémon Is The Perfect Crossover
Regarding franchises least likely to have a crossover, we can probably put "American Psycho" and "Pokémon" safely at the top of the list. While the former is a brutally violent satire of '80s yuppie culture, the latter is a cute and cuddly global phenomenon that is so squeaky clean and widely known that even anime outsiders will be well familiar with it.
That could be why it's so funny to see the two mashed up so perfectly by TikToker @morningcoffeecomedy. The creator uses the scene in which Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) shares his new business card with his colleagues, only to be one-upped by each of them. Naturally, the joke is that all four cards look exactly the same, but when they're switched for "Pokémon" trading cards, the scene is doubly funny.
This is because "Pokémon" card collectors take the hobby extremely seriously despite it being mainly marketed to kids. With that in mind, the idea of a card player realizing that his friends' cards can easily beat his proudest find in the game's randomized packs is absurdly hilarious.
The scene begins with Patrick showing off his new "Pokémon" card, which happens to be a Cubone. What makes this so funny is not only how the design of Cubone lines up with Patrick's description of his card in "American Psycho" ("that's bone!") but also the fact that even casual fans will know Cubone is pretty far down the list in terms of rarity.
The choice of Pokemon for the cards is pitch perfect
Like with Patrick Bateman's card, the next, a Togepi, matches up perfectly with the description from David Van Patten (Bill Sage), as he comments that it's "egg white" and Togepi lives in an egg. Togepi is also known to be much rarer than Cubone, piling on the "Pokémon" references. Of course, David is then trumped by a Ditto from Timothy Bryce (Justin Theroux), which he hilariously describes as a "pale nimbus."
The capper, of course, is an absent Paul Allen (Jared Leto), who has the best card of all with a Snorlax. "The tasteful thickness of it..." Patrick seethes as he stares at the weighty Pokémon. In context, the scene gets funnier not only because of how silly it is but also because of how perfectly it matches up with how seriously these men take something that ought not to matter all that much.
Of course, the cherry on top is that Bateman's jealousy and rage over this incident contribute to his murder of Allen later on in "American Psycho." Add in the sneaky inclusion of Poké Ball art in the office of the meeting room, and the picture is truly complete for this highly improbable crossover. Still, it's the editing that's the real star here. The creator perfectly syncs up the Pokémon cards in place of the business cards, only elevating the scene's hilarious absurdity in the process.