Had it been any better, “Joker: Folie a Deux” might have been in the conversation for awards attention.
The original landed Joaquin Phoenix an Oscar. The sequel promised the addition of Lady Gaga.
The second film, however, landed with a thud earlier this year. A thin plot (dressed up with dozens of showtunes) derailed it.
For the faithful, it was designed to show what life would be like for Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) after he was arrested and tossed in a mental institution awaiting trial.
Five years after their rabble-rousing Oscar nominated DC Comics blockbuster, director Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix are back for more antihero fun. This time, it’s a musical, and Lady Gaga is playing Harley Quinn. (Oct. 4, in theaters)
There, the guards make fun of him but the public is fascinated with his story.
When the case comes to trial (he’s charged with killing five people), a cult has emerged who see him as some kind of folk hero, not a lawbreaker. Chief among those is Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who meets him in a music therapy class. Rather than fill us in on her life, director Todd Phillips uses this as an opportunity for Gaga to sing snippets from a host of songs – including those found in movie musicals. That delays the inevitable and makes us wonder why the Oscar- and Grammy-winner even agreed to do this. She’s the erstwhile Harley Quinn but little of that story seeps through. Instead, there’s a lot of Phoenix grinning and picking at songs. By the time they’ve had their sixth or seventh go at Gotham karaoke, “Folie a Deux” certainly earns its title.
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The trial could have amounted to something (particularly when Fleck dresses in Joker-esque clothes), but it seems just as dull as a regular trial. Only the appearance of Gary Puddles (Leigh Gill), a colleague from Fleck’s clown days, stacks up. He details the carnage and looks visibly scared of Fleck when he moves in for the questioning.
The assistant district attorney – Harvey Dent (Harry Lawtey) – should be a source for another origins story but he, too, is left hanging until the surprise ending. Then, the movie scurries for a denouement.
- Director: Todd Phillips
While Batman adaptations abound, "Joker: Folie à Deux" promises an entirely new look into the world of Gotham. Following the box office success of 2019's "Joker," which starred Joaquin Phoenix as the titular character, joined by Zazie Beetz and Robert De Niro, the sequel introduces Lady Gaga as notorious Batman villain Harley Quinn. Gaga's portrayal will no doubt differ significantly from previous depictions of the character, such as Margot Robbie's, particularly because "Joker: Folie à Deux" will be a musical.
Brendan Gleeson is interesting as an abusive guard, but his actions don’t negate Fleck’s. Instead, they make you think everyone in the film is on the take somehow. Whether that puts you in Joker’s camp is up for debate but one man’s behavior doesn’t justify another’s.
Phillips revisits a key location from the first film but doesn’t get the same buzz. It’s there as a reminder of the euphoria Fleck once felt.
To start the film, he uses an animated version of Joker and attempts to give this a bit more variety. Like all those familiar songs, it’s just extender for a film that has very little beef to extend.
Phoenix is just as quirky as he once was; Gaga could have been good with the right direction. When they make eyes at each other during the trial, there’s the hint that this could have been something. Instead, it’s just one more attempt to pick at the bones of Batman before the audience tires of seeing characters from DC Comics’ inventory.
Longer than it should be (it clocks in at 138 minutes), “Joker: Folie a Deux” is toilet paper on the shoe of a film that had a unique rhythm and an original point of view.
Now, perhaps, it’s time to give the folks in Gotham a rest.
