Joker: Folie à Deux

Grade: C+

The best scenes in Joker: Folie à Deux didn’t really happen. By that, I mean at least a third of it is comprised of fantasy sequences. Though I don’t believe it should have been a top Oscar nominee, I had a certain fondness for Joker (2019). Its rough-around-the-edges feel was a refreshing change from your usual glossy, polished, safe superhero movie. It looked great. The inclusion of Robert De Niro in the cast served as the bow on what was already retro-Scorcese packaging. Everything that worked 5 years ago doesn’t pack the same luster now.

The plot is paper-thin. A significant amount of it takes place in the courtroom, as Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) stands trial for the murders that included those on De Niro’s talk show in the first film. Fleck, particularly his Joker persona, has amassed an army of fans, with his biggest admirer being Harleen Quinzel (Lady Gaga), later known, of course, as Harley Quinn. As she is a patient at Arkham State Hospital, they meet. They smoke as much as they sing and dance, and spark up a romance. Another familiar character is district attorney Harvey Dent, played by 27-year-old Harry Lawtey (HBO’s Industry). We know he will become Two-Face, but the movie misses every opportunity to build up to anything resembling that.

That’s pretty much it. Wikipedia calls Folie à Deux a musical psychological thriller. They are correct to front load it with “musical.” It’s a jukebox one. The singing/dancing numbers are very well done, as you would expect from Phoenix and especially Gaga. I was disappointed that after being the backdrop of the trailers (and working so well), “What the World Needs Now is Love” does not appear in the movie. Somehow, the cinematography didn’t jump up and wow me like in the 2019 film – almost like there wasn’t as much of it this time. 

The new cast members who make the best impressions are Catherine Keener as Arthur’s lawyer, and Brendan Gleeson as an Irish prison warden. Gleeson has been in the business forever, but was never put on the map more than when The Banshees of Inisherin took off. It’s great to see him here, with different dramatic notes, and a full set of fingers. Otherwise, the proceedings routinely clop along, and we get the usual crazy-acting and mugging for the camera. I held out hope that it might pull itself together with a grand finale, but it ultimately felt empty. I’d had just enough of this clown, and wanted him to shut the Fleck up.

What we’re left with is basically an extended version of the trailer, with nothing additional. My devoted readers may be aware that B- and C+ is my pass/fail cutoff. The B- grade is for the worst good movies, while C+ is for the best bad ones. I thought I could at least recommend it. It’s not boring. I didn’t feel the 2 hour and 18 minute running time. Once what takes place in a closing scene is allowed to happen the way it does (what kind of security did prisons have circa 1981 anyway?), Joker: Folie à Deux officially lost me. To quote the man himself from both films, “you wouldn’t get it.”

Grade: C+