Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)

2 Stars (out of 4)

Half a Laugh

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Phoenix and Gaga give it their all in Todd Phillips's Joker: Folie à Deux, but whatever worked about the original simply doesn't work here; it's a long, bummer of a songfest, and makes us question why we're even watching this character.

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is incarcerated in Arkham. His murderous escapades as Joker, plus a subsequent TV movie about them, have earned him some fame. His lawyer, Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), is trying to free him due to mental illness, on the basis that Joker is another personality, separate from Arthur's.

Meanwhile, he's approached by Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), a fan, who seems to have fallen in love with him. Arthur envisions performing various old-standard musical numbers with her, and falls in love with her back. As the trial gets underway, Arthur seems to be struggling with his identity as Joker, as if the killer clown is yearning to be set free again.

It's safe to guess that Joker: Folie à Deux exists at all because Joker (2019) earned its way into the billion-dollar movie club, which is incredible given that it was a pessimistic reworking of two Martin Scorsese movies (Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy) about how a cruel and selfish society can drive a lonely and sad person to violence.

This sequel is probably inspired by another Scorsese movie, New York, New York, which is also a very long and very depressing musical. The decision to cast Lady Gaga as a Harley Quinn-type character probably went over well in pitch meetings, and she is great, but her character becomes part of the movie's problem.

Whereas the first movie was about Arthur's descent into madness, this one is mostly about his fame, and how everyone wants him to be Joker. But why? The movie never wonders why all these people would be so fascinated by, and indeed adore, a murderer. (There are always mobs hanging around outside the prison, many with painted-on clown faces or masks, emulating their "hero.")

The most powerful, human moment involves the return of Gary Puddles (person of short stature Leigh Gill), from the first movie, who, in an extraordinary moment, explains how Arthur's actions robbed him of his strength and courage.

Aside from this, director Todd Phillips focuses on making his imagery big and showy (i.e. a shot of four different-colored umbrellas seen from above, with Arthur at the center), and yet somehow the musical numbers wind up largely dreary, as if they were performed at three-quarter speed.

The movie's final ten minutes suggest that there wasn't much of an idea here to begin with. When fans walk out of Joker: Folie à Deux, they're less likely to be "bewitched, bothered and bewildered," than "baffled, befuddled, and bored."