Joker: Folie a Deux ~ Review

One of the most ridiculous pieces of film discourse was the tempest in the teapot surrounding the release of Todd Phillips' Joker in 2019. When the film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, it won the Golden Lion and promptly sparked controversy among critics. “This,” they said, “was a movie for our ugly and bleak times!” A movie that was so disturbed, that one critic even implied it would lead to literal real-world violence.
 
All of this was hilariously overblown nonsense. Because Joker is a thoroughly mediocre pastiche of The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver with characters from the Batman universe thrown in. It makes a lot of noise about classism and mental health, but ultimately it doesn’t explore those issues in any way. It has the depth of a puddle, but the film thinks it’s a brilliant commentary on modern life. To which I say, no it is not.
 
There are exactly two things to recommend the first Joker, Lawrence Sher’s incredible cinematography, and Joaquin Phoenix’s haunting performance. Those two elements (cinematography and performance) make the movie feel deeper than it is, and without them, Joker would have been completely forgettable. Had it not been for the controversy, I don’t think the movie would have made $1 billion at the global box office, or been nominated for any Academy Awards. When a comic book movie makes that much money a sequel is pretty much guaranteed, so here we are with Joker: Folie a Deux…a righteous screed against the fans of the original Joker and it’s a musical!
 
It's been two years since Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) went and killed six people, including talk show host Murray Franklin on live television. Fleck is now in Arkham State Hospital, waiting for his trial and dealing with the sadistic warden Jackie (Brendan Gleeson). Gotham City district attorney, Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) would very much like Fleck to go on trial and eventually the electric chair. Fleck’s lawyer Maryanne (Catherine Keener) is looking to plead insanity and swears that Fleck has multiple personality disorder. Meanwhile, Fleck has fallen in love with fellow inmate Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga) who might not have his best interests at heart.
 
Fleck is eventually put on trial and then Joker: Folie a Deux becomes a courtroom drama where the themes and plot beats of the original movie are relitigated (pun intended) punctuated by fantastical musical numbers comprised of songs from either golden age Hollywood musicals or lounge standards. This is the pattern of the movie, and it is repeated, over and over. It’d be one thing if either part of the movie were entertaining or interesting, but instead, they are just boring. The courtroom stuff is simply characters lecturing the audience on the themes of the first film and the musical numbers are just…there? They don’t illuminate Fleck or Lee’s madness – they just happen. They are lavishly produced and look great, but in the end…what’s the point?
 
So, I did not like Joker: Folie a Deux. I found it to be a boring slog. However, there are highlights here. Lawrence Sher returns as cinematographer and the film just looks beautiful. Sher uses pops of color to contrast the bleakness of the world around Fleck. Phoenix and Gaga give their all to the music and drama equally. 

In the end, it felt like nothing in Joker: Folie a Deux actually mattered and is one big misanthropic joke. Maybe that’s what Phillips is ultimately trying to say with this film -- comic book movies and their big-budget sequels are just a waste of their audience’s time. Well, this one certainly wasted mine.
 
One star out of four