‘Joker: Folie à Deux’: please don’t send in this clown

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You might end up with this face after watching ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ – not even Joaquin Phoenix’s star power can save it. (Warner Bros pic)
Heard this one before? Two guys decide to watch “Joker: Folie à Deux”. They meet outside the cinema, and the first guy asks: “Hey, why are you carrying a ladder?” The second guy replies: “It’s for the movie. I have high expectations!”
Yeah, that joke isn’t very funny. Then again, nothing in “Joker: Folie à Deux” really is. It’s almost amazing how a movie about a murderous clown, one of the greatest comic-book villains in history, can be such a slog to sit through.
If you’ve forgotten already, this is the sequel to 2019’s “Joker”, which focuses on the criminal clown who happens to be the greatest enemy of a certain superhero named Batman.
Joaquin Phoenix played Arthur Fleck, a down-on-his-luck comedian who snaps back after constantly being tormented, and ultimately inspires a violent revolution in the city of Gotham.
The film attracted a lot of controversy, particularly for its portrayal of mental illness, but was ultimately acclaimed. It was the first-ever R-rated film to earn US$1 billion at the box office, while Pheonix picked up a Best Actor Academy Award for his performance.
Expectations were, therefore, very high for this sequel, also directed by Todd Phillips. Unfortunately, the same lightning in a bottle that made the first film such a hit seems to be completely missing here.
This one is an odd mish-mash of genres, bizarrely stitching together elements of musical theatre, a gangster flick, and courtroom drama. This sounds like a horrifying mix, but honestly, it’s more boring than anything else.
In a twist few would have seen, this sequel to ‘Joker’ is mainly a courtroom drama. (Warner Bros pic)
“Folie à Deux” picks up shortly where the first film ends, with Fleck brought to trial for the murders he committed. Despite his wild nature, many of Gotham’s citizens relate to him, and he ends up gaining many supporters (parallels to real-life politics? Surely not!).
Fleck soon grows tired of the rigmarole of the court process, but things brighten up when he meets Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga), a kooky former mental patient. The two become attracted to each other and start planning a life together… if only those pesky laws and policemen don’t get in their way.
(By the way, what exactly is “folie à deux”? Fun fact: it’s a French term for a delusion or mental illness shared by two people in close association.)
On paper, all this seems promising, but on screen, the film moves at such a glacial plot, it is hard to feel invested in anything. Many people have criticised the fact that this is a movie musical, but the song-and-dance moments are probably the best parts.
It’s fun to see Fleck burst into Stevie Wonder’s “For Once In My Life” or croon ballads with Gaga. Yet, while entertaining at first, these musical numbers are all filmed in the most standard, generic style possible: really, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.
And if you’re a Batman fan, this movie will likely leave you disappointed: apart from the appearance of two well-known characters, there are few Bat-shenanigans to be had here.
Much of the movie focuses on the bond between Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga). (Warner Bros pic)
Visually, “Folie à Deux” maintains a striking aesthetic, but it often feels like style over substance. The score by Oscar-winning Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is haunting but quickly becomes repetitive.
Acting-wise, Phoenix is always compelling, but everything he does here was done much better in the first “Joker”. Not even his star power is enough to help this effort rise from the ashes of mediocrity.
It’s also hard to go gaga over Gaga, who shines during the musical numbers, but whose character ultimately feels one-dimensional.
Meanwhile, certain plot elements that were left ambiguous in the first movie are also given definitive (and unsatisfying) conclusions here. As a result, not only is this a chore to sit through, it also goes out of its way to diminish its predecessor. Sigh.
Ultimately, the best clowns in pop culture are either funny or scary. Here, Arthur Fleck is just boring. Move over, “Wonder Woman 1984” – you’re no longer the most disappointing sequel to a great movie about a DC character.

As of press time, ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.

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