Joker: Folie a Deux – A review by Movies with Matteo

*note: this film is rated R. This review does not endorse the behavior depicted in the film, and the writer discourages those under 17 years old from seeing the movie. 

2019’s Joker was a huge hit that no one, including Warner Brothers themselves, saw coming. The movie, which had a budget of roughly 60 million dollars, brought in over 1 billion dollars and broke the record of the highest grossing R-rated movie ever made. The film was also nominated for numerous Academy Awards, and won Joaquin Phoenix a well deserved best actor Oscar. The first film seemed to tell a complete story, so many people were surprised when a sequel was announced. People were even more puzzled when it was announced that the film would be a Jukebox musical. Finally, the film is out. Does it live up to its predecessor? Short answer is no. 

The film, set directly after the first, follows Arthur Fleck incarcerated in a mental institution, awaiting trial from his crimes committed in the first film. It is here he meets Lady Gaga’s character, Lee, in a music therapy group.  Although the film has many issues, Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga are not among them. They are both excellent, and Lady Gaga especially shines in the musical segments. 

One major flaw with the film is that it tries to balance being a compelling court drama AND an extravagant, whimsical musical, at which it fails at miserably. While the musical scenes are well choreographed and have good vocal performances, they are so random and out of place that it can be very distracting. 

The court scenes are some of the most generic and forgettable parts of the movie. They’re trying to be as compelling as other courtroom dramas like My Cousin Vinny or To Kill a Mockingbird, but the scenes are largely paint-by-numbers and add nothing interesting to the plot. I found myself actually dozing off during the unnecessarily lengthy interrogation scenes. 

By the end of the film, I was shaking my head, wondering who in the world would ever green light this movie. It is uninteresting, has major tonal issues, and has a bafflingly awful ending that had me sitting in my seat wondering what I had just watched. The real joke of Joker: Folie a Deux is that its audience members were suckered into spending hard-earned money and wasting precious time on a film that is bland and poorly written.