Jay Rohr
Joker: Folie à Deux is an attempt to rewrite history. Back in 2019, director Todd Phillips shamelessly glamorized nihilism so well it raked in a billion dollars. Yet, that cash tsunami didn’t include a tidal wave of critical acclaim. Various awards notwithstanding, many found the first Joker film “weightless and shallow” and with Folie à Deux, there’s an attempt to prove naysayers got it wrong.
The sequel features Joaquin Phoenix returning to a role that earned him an Oscar. Locked away inside Arkham Asylum, Arthur Fleck awaits trial for crimes committed in the first film. There he’s tormented by cruel guards, who inadvertently put him in the arms of Lee, played by Lady Gaga (A Star is Born). These star-crossed lunatic lovers instantly bond but happiness is short lived. As the trial unfolds, Arthur begins to question his Joker persona, whether to reject it or embrace it entirely.
Joker: Folie à Deux is also a musical. Oddly enough, the premise works. Responding to music therapy in the asylum, Arthur’s delusions begin to take on characteristics of musicals. However, the film typically has Phoenix or popstar Gaga singing offkey. The aim is for a kind of sad realism that gets old fast. Meanwhile, casting a renowned voice like Lady Gaga just to have her sing badly feels like a gimmicky waste.
Furthermore, musicals often have exceedingly obvious messages. The tone and lyrics of tunes make plain what characters are thinking or feeling. Joker: Folie à Deux thoroughly embraces this lack of subtlety. As such, musical portions don’t augment the narrative so much as interrupt it to hammer home what’s going on in Arthur’s head.
Whereas Joker drew from The King of Comedy (1982) and Taxi Driver (1976), Folie à Deux doesn’t really seem to pull a page from any musicals. The closest it gets to inspiration is copying the style of the Sonny & Cher television show for one scene. Consequently, without a style to mimic, Todd Phillips can’t craft anything with much interesting spectacle. Joker: Folie à Deux lacks the seductive, surreal allure of things like “The Girl Hunt Ballet”. That’s especially interesting because the movie includes characters watching The Band Wagon (1953) which the scene is from. It’s like the director knows what musicals are in general but not how to make one.
Others may argue the intention is to be as unlike them as possible, but that doesn’t explain why Arthur’s delusions become increasingly elaborate, leaving reality for escapism supposedly similar to musicals. Joker: Folie à Deux wants to embrace the very essence of the genre while pretending to subvert that style by bluntly highlighting it as delusional daydreaming. It’s the kind of contradiction mistaking itself for cleverness that spoils much of the movie.
Thematically, Joker: Folie à Deux wants to emphasize that being the Joker is a bad thing. Here audiences witness grim consequences such as incarceration, and how such an anti-hero inspires the worst kind of people. Yet, it still wants Arthur to be somewhat sympathetic, such as when it showcases the cruelty of guards led by Brendan Gleesson (In Bruges), the grotesque conditions of the asylum, or hints of sadness in Phoenix’s performance. As for a love story, it’s more an indictment of self-serving groupies than an intriguing tale of entwined madness.
Visually, director Todd Phillips brings back the sickly sludge of colors from the first film. The muddy, gritty Gotham reminiscent of 70s cinematography is alive and thriving in Joker: Folie à Deux. Within the grim depressing confines of the asylum, it works well enough, but the courtroom drama as well as musical numbers aren’t as captivating. The song and dance sections especially suffer since they don’t come alive or escape very far from the film’s reality. Meanwhile, the courtroom elements don’t have the gravity necessary to make them compelling.
That can easily be blamed on the script. Todd Phillips reunited with Scott Silver to pen the sequel. However, their Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay seems to have left the dynamic duo thinking whatever they wrote would be compelling. Joker: Folie à Deux largely consists of characters from the first flick rehashing what happened from their perspective. Still, some performances save these exposition dumps from being boring.
Leigh Gill, who played Gary in Joker, gives a heartbreaking display as he testifies in court. It would be nice if anyone else mustered up the same emotional intensity. Joaquin Phoenix is reminiscent of his earlier performance, yet it lacks much of the ethereal oddity or unsettling menace that made the part captivating before. Filmmakers were so determined to divorce themselves from previous depictions of Harleen Quinzel, they stripped the character of everything compelling. Lady Gaga does fine with what’s left, but the role is too sedate to be interesting. Besides whispering lyrics offkey, she’s a colorless easter egg among a few others baiting comic book fans.
Otherwise, since most characters aren’t given anything interesting to do, none of the cast really stands out. Although no one hurts the film, they don’t add anything to it either. Joker: Folie à Deux is populated by forgettable parts.
Arthur Fleck shouldn’t be admired. Yet, he is and this film seems in some way determined to point out the folly of that admiration. However, that hardly makes the movie genius. Joker was never meant to have a sequel. So, one that emphasizes that notion about its main character is interesting but telling. The filmmakers want to pretend negative critics missed the point the first time around.
Writer-director Todd Phillips tries to conjure a musical spectacle that highlights the flaws of a dangerous, delusional loner. Yet, it also wants him sympathetically tragic. The filmmakers frequently mistake such contradictions for complexity. Unable to compose intriguing song and dance scenes, Joker: Folie à Deux settles for reminding of the first film. Consequently, a lot of the movie seems like trying to take a second bite of an already eaten cookie. Despite a few tasty crumbs, there aren’t enough to satisfy a healthy appetite.
