Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) Review

RATING: 2/10

TODD Phillips' bold transition from a comedic to dramatic film director has been nothing short of a mixed bag for the successful filmmaker. With films such as 2009's The Hangover and 2019's Joker gaining substantial amounts of critical and commercial success, Phillips' movies have arguably changed the landscape of how many directors go about creating their works - for better and for worse; Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to his 2019 award-winner, is a perfect example of this expression.

Failed stand-up comedian, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), finds himself incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital following the events of Joker (2019) after establishing a revolution amongst the criminals of Gotham City. Despite his crippling dual-identity crisis, Arthur's life, remarkably, turns around for the better upon meeting fellow Arkham inmate, and soon-to-be love of his life, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). Throughout the remainder of the film, they recount the events of Joker (2019) and Arthur's impending story in a musical fashion; a controversial decision by director Todd Phillips which, undoubtably, impeded any chance for a satisfying story to be told.

Joker (2019) managed to be nothing short of a game-changing success - at least in the eyes of the public. Many critics, including myself, saw the original as a film that, while refreshing and worthy of its award-winning achievements, felt its universal praise was overemphasized, and in the case of many, highly unwarranted. The movie did however provide audiences with a performance that has since changed his career as an actor for the foreseeable future - Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. And while he does a tremendous job in Folie à Deux, the characterisation of Phoenix's Joker offers very little, with the implemented musical numbers offering even less, and in some instances, detracting from Folie à Deux's title characters.

Speaking of title characters, Phoenix's on-screen partner-in-crime, Lady Gaga, also does a wonderful job in her DC debut as comic-book icon Harley Quinn. Gaga's contributions to the songs are what stand out the most in this jukebox musical, with her vocals easily being the highlight of perhaps the entire film. It's just a shame that, much like Phoenix, her character also couldn't have been ravaged, comprising what could've been a transformative sequel to what was already a game-changing film.

Thankfully, for fans of traditional musicals, Joker: Folie à Deux is a jukebox musical, with Phillips opting not to include any original compositions in his unwanted sequel, instead choosing to stick with widely-recognised songs such as The Bee Gees' To Love Somebody, as well as a classic rendition of The Great American Songbook's Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. These covers do provide the occasional toe-tapping when judged from a pure viewing experience, but it's only when you probe deeper into the meaning of these songs is when you come to the realisation that Joker: Folie à Deux offers a narrative that is scantily gratifying - and even less entertaining.

Many audience-goers have gone on record stating Joker 2 made them walk out of the cinema, and while you can't add my name to that list, my decision to sit through the entirety of Folie à Deux is one I have since come to regret. Musicals are meant to convey a compelling, enticing narrative through the art of music. Director Todd Phillips has managed to achieve a near-impossible feat: create a movie with little-to-no redeeming qualities, musical numbers which, while somewhat decent out of context, contribute nothing to the story that is trying to be told, and attempt to convey a story that, unfathomably, has no point to meaning, resulting in an 2-hour long musical that exists solely to show-off the melodic talents of Phoenix - but Gaga more-so. It goes without saying that Phillips' dive into the world of musical numbers is one he won't be, or shouldn't be, revisiting.