2019’s Joker was an interesting spin on a classic comic character and a stylish throwback to 70s Scorsese griminess that found its way to an Oscar win for Joaquin Phoenix and over 1 billion dollars at the box office. Joker: Folie à Deux is one of the most baffling sequels in recent memory. It feels pulled in several directions and does not satisfy any of them.
Two years after he appeared on The Murray Franklin Show and murdered its host on live television, Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) had been locked away in Arkham Asylum awaiting trial. While attending a music therapy class, he meets and falls for fellow inmate “Lee” (Lady Gaga), who expresses her admiration and love for “Joker.” It feels like there are at least three different ideas for a Joker sequel, pulling on each other or fighting for dominance. There’s a One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest style drama in Arkham where Arthur rebels against the sadistic and abusive guards and inspires his fellow inmates to fight the system; there’s the courtroom drama/thriller where the examination of whether Arthur or “The Joker” (as a split personality) was the one that committed all the crimes and, the craziest of all, a musical romance between Arthur and Lee. After all the ballyhoo leading up to the movie’s release about it being a musical and the casting of Lady Gaga, the musical aspect is shockingly muted and bizarre. While a few sequences go full-on classic Hollywood musical style, most of the songs are sung in a way that seems like Phoenix and Gaga are intentionally doing it badly, with cracking, raw voices, and hushed tones. I guess this is to make it feel more realistic and play into their emotional states, but if you’re going to be a musical, go all in and be a musical. Hell, you had $200 million for the budget, come up with original songs, and got a shot at an Oscar. The court and asylum stuff get pretty repetitious as they each hit the same beats repeatedly, and it feels like an epilogue to the first movie dragged out to over 2 hours. Most of the social commentary is mainly non-existent, like the side plot about Gotham cutting funding for public services like garbage and social workers and Arthur inspiring an Eat the Rich style uprising. We’re told there are still large crowds supporting Joker, but we barely see them or their impact on Gotham.
Despite the plot issues, Phoenix and Gaga are mostly great when it comes to the acting. Phoenix delivers another stunning physical performance, somehow making Arthur even more emaciated and pathetic than in the first movie, and delivers some great dramatic scenes. This is contrasted with things like him talking like Foghorn Leghorn while in court, so it’s all kind of a wash. There is also a total lack of an arc, like in the first movie, where Arthur starts sympathetically before fully devolving into a psychopath. However, the only conflict is whether he fully embraces “Joker” or Arthur. The supporting cast is solid, with Catherine Keener, Brendan Gleeson, Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent, and Steve Coogan showing up for a great scene where Arthur is being interviewed live on TV before the trial.
Joker: Folie à Deux is a case study of what can happen when someone is given almost unlimited funds and no oversight. Todd Phillips threw spaghetti at the wall and then flipped off whatever stuck. If it wanted to be a big throwback musical, have the courage of your convictions and do it, don’t do this wishy washy pseudo musical with a half-baked courtroom drama attached. If you’re morbidly curious, wait until this hits Max, and then watch it.
