Joker: Folie à Deux

I was going to go and see the first Joaquin Phoenix outing as the "Joker" (2019) to remind my self of who did what to whom, but I didn't have time. I think I am glad because I recall that being so very much better than this. Here, we pick up after "Fleck" (Phoenix) has been on his clown-faced slaughtering spree and is in prison supervised by prison officer "Jackie" (Brendan Gleeson). His lawyer "Maryanne" (Catherine Keener) is trying to have him declared competent to stand trial for his crimes so she can plead some sort of personality disorder defence - he's not "Fleck" when he's the "Joker" sort of thing. Thing is, he encounters "Lee" (Lady Gaga) at a prison sing-a-long and she manages to ingratiate herself with him and then to derail that plan ensuring the plot twists it's way into the courtroom where his conviction for multiple homicides quickly appears as inevitable as there being a song in the film. Now I did like the soundtrack, but by the way Todd Phillips has presented this, it might as well have been either Tony Bennett or Newley who took on the leading role as her part is largely a series of entertainingly photographed music videos with the thinnest slices of meat constituting a weak story in between. It's a love story, I suppose, but that wasn't really what I turned up to see. There's loads of excess, but no menace or jeopardy and the character's previous adeptness at treading the thin line between sanity and madness isn't really developed at all here. He comes across more as a pathetic, emaciated, prisoner whose flame has well and truly gone out. His legal antagonist (Harry Lawtey) looks about eleven years old but that doesn't really matter either as the judicial proceedings themselves offer us little by way of sustaining drama, even as we build to a denouement that offers the tiniest bit of hope then... It's a stunning piece of cinema, money has been spent and there's imagination a-plenty from the production's designers. It's just too much of a jigsaw of a film with too little plot serving as a vehicle for an album boxed-set that's doubtless ready to hit the shops.

both **JOKER** movies were clickbait. he is not the joker & she is not Harley. (they are Arthur & Lee) 🤮**that's what you get for overhyping first movie!** 😂🤣

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://talkingfilms.net/joker-folie-a-deux-review-an-ambitious-musical-failure/ "Joker: Folie à Deux holds immense technical and artistic merit, but it fails to replicate the success and impact of the original. Todd Phillips’ boldness in turning the film into a musical is admirable, but the execution ends up being incoherent, with abrupt transitions between the dark drama and the musical numbers, resulting in a jarring experience, made even more frustrating by the studio’s embarrassing secrecy about the movie’s format. While visually impressive and with standout performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, the lack of thematic and character development makes this sequel an ambitious yet ultimately disappointing attempt that adds little to the thought-provoking study presented in 2019." Rating: C-

Combining movie genres can be tricky business. When the mix is right, the outcome can be truly impressive, but, when it’s off, it can spell cinematic disaster. In the case of this long-awaited sequel to the 2019 box office and critically acclaimed success, unfortunately, the result is closer to the latter than the former. Picking up where the protagonist’s story left off, this saga about charismatic villain Arthur Fleck (a.k.a., the Joker) (Joaquin Phoenix) finds him in prison awaiting trial for his string of heinous crimes. Most of the picture’s first half takes place here, an unlikely venue for Arthur meeting the love of his life, the psychopathic Lee Quinzel (a.k.a., Harley Quinn) (Lady Gaga), who diligently stands by her man when he eventually goes to court, the primary focus of the film’s second half. So, at this point, the picture is already part prison film, part courtroom drama and part dark romance. But, if that weren’t enough, writer-director Todd Phillips draws upon a fourth genre – musicals – to make the mix even more overstuffed (but, hey, if you’ve got a talent like Lady Gaga at your disposal, why not, right?). The result is a convoluted, overlong, often-uninteresting offering that’s heavy on style but weak on substance and not especially interesting. Admittedly, the performances of the two leads and many of the supporting players (Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener and Steve Coogan in particular) are quite good, doing a more than commendable job of making this material look far better than it actually is. In addition, stylistically speaking, the picture is terrific when it comes to its production design, costuming and cinematography. And the soundtrack is great, too, including an array of superbly chosen standards to complement the narrative (even if there are a few too many selections). But these strengths by themselves aren’t enough to make a good picture overall; what’s stuck in between these elements feels more like filler than substance, and that’s where the movie falls apart. In my view, “Joker: Folie à Deux” isn’t as resoundingly awful as many reviewers have made it out to be in light of its artistic and aesthetic accomplishments, but that doesn’t mean this release is not without its share of problems, most notably in the dreadful writing and mishandled film editing. This is one of those pictures where you get to the end and are likely to heave a heavy “Ho hum, so what?” And that’s regrettable, given that the character and this picture’s predecessor both deserved better than what this follow-up has to offer. If you haven’t seen this yet, you might be better off sticking to the picture’s genuinely stellar trailer, as that’s ultimately much better than most of what’s found in this clunky 2:18:00 release.

Was this a Lady Gaga's special? What a joke.

Great title, great movie. I had heard tiny bits about 'Joker: Folie à Deux' falling below expectations since its release, though they weren't substantial enough to know if the film was any good or not. I have to say, I really enjoyed watching it all play out. It admittedly isn't on the same level as the phenomenal predecessor, but that's OK - I wasn't expecting it to be. I will say that making this a musical of sorts was a bold choice, it wouldn't have been the direction that I would've went with it but to be honest I thought they executed it nicely. I presume that is one reason many didn't like this, as well as possibly the lack of craziness that seemed like it was on the horizon based on the 2019 flick. For me, mind, it all works. Joaquin Phoenix is as excellent as anticipated in his reprisal as Joker, while Lady Gaga is a neat piece of casting for Lee - obviously her music chops for one, though I do enjoy her acting too. Lee perhaps could've been used more, but what we got is more than sufficient in my opinion. Brendan Gleeson, elsewhere, does well in a more minor role. Is is slightly overlong? Possibly. Did we need a sequel? Probably not. All I can confirm is that I had a positive time viewing it, so I can't harbour any noteworthy complaints. It's a shame to now read that this film has seemingly bombed in more ways than one. C'est la vie.

Meh I liked it, not as much as Joker (2019) but liked it enough Not that it didn't have it's problems because it had so many, but not as many as some feel it has Seems the producers/writers had a few different ideas that they just decided to mush together which created this very average sequel. I've seen the first Joker three times, probably wouldn't give this a rewatch, would give a third a watch.

If this beautiful and well executed fiLm was not the Joker I wouldn't have watched it. I would have liked it the same but wouldn't have wasted my time. Loser gets laid, becomes winner. Gets beat up. Is loser again. I didn't like the new matrix for its 'haha this movie's making fun of the movie' premise. At least this is funnier as a trick to get fans to watch this. What a waste of weight loss. Telephone is a much better musical Gaga prison caper.

"Joker: Folie `a Deux" has a variety of reveries based upon Arthur Fleck and Lee Quinzel, but it isn't long before these elaborately staged musical extravaganzas begin to make the entire film resemble some sort of expensive television show starring the one and only Jaoquin Phoenix and his very special guest Lady Gaga. The film certainly provides a superb showcase for the musical talents of them both, but it comes at a price: It is also responsible for side lining the other necessary elements of the film and as a direct result of this what we are lumbered with is essentially a virtually non-existent story the filmmakers have decided to overload with a plethora of musical numbers and HEY, PRESTO! THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT! Well, yes. After a fashion. What is going to happen in the third film it will no doubt be revealed none of this actually happened - which is probably what both audiences and the executives at Warner Bros. are thinking to themselves right this minute, especially in light of the meagre profit this film struggled to scrape together at the box office when compared to the extraordinary success of the original.

The second Joker movie had a lot to live up to. There was always an underlying tension, which was expected to erupt into chaos and violence at any time. But sadly that moment never came. What was left was the sad story of a mentally ill criminal going through his trial and gaining some hope when falling in love. **Beware: spoilers ahead** Although despised by most of Gotham's citizens, the Joker had a loyal fan-base. Then, later in the movie it gets clearer that those fans were only interested in the monster-part of the joker, but not in his person. When they realized they weren't given the monster, their support and loyalty faded quickly, leaving the Joker alone and devastated. I think the main idea behind the movie is interesting and engaging, but the execution is way too lengthy. It lacks an action part where the Joker and Harley Quinn drown the city in chaos. The singing scenes were too numerous and his mentally illness may have been expressed better while wrecking the city. The acting, the art style and presentation were awesome, that's why the short story in such a long movie disappoints even more.

**_Joker falls in love in prison and goes to trial while singing songs_** Whilst the 2019 movie was intended to be a standalone film, Joaquin Phoenix said he felt there was more to explore with the character, which was augmented by his dreams that inspired the idea to make the potential sequel a musical. Since the original film was a mega-hit, the creative wheels started rolling and Lawrence Sher was reenlisted as cinematographer, citing Francis Ford Coppola's “One from the Heart” (1982) as an influence. The story is simple and condensed into my title blurb; it’s just a brooding continuation of the original film, with the addition of two thrilling sequences in the final act (which I’m not going to give away). If you took out all of the song & dance sequences, you’d have a 95-minutes movie. So, whether or not you’ll like this flick comes down to if you can stomach the imaginative musical pieces. If you enjoyed “Chicago” and “Into the Woods” or even “The Wizard of Oz,” and are open to that approach mingled with the dark side of the DC universe, specifically the Batman mythos, you’ll probably appreciate this. If not, you’ll rail against it. I get that ‘Lady Gaga’ (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) is an acquired taste, but she’s uniquely beautiful here and performs well. Surprisingly, there’s no physical exploitation, which I respect. At the end of the day, this isn’t as captivating as the original film, yet a lot of that has to do with the unpalatable or mundane nature of the plot; I’m talking about the setting of a prison hospital and the court room happenings. So, in my mind, the colorful song & dance routines perk things up from time to time. It runs 2h 18m and was shot from Dec-Apr 2022-2023 at the abandoned Essex County Isolation Hospital in northeast New Jersey, which is a dozen miles west of the Lincoln Tunnel. Other exterior places include New York City (the County Courthouse and the “Joker stairs” in the Bronx) and downtown Los Angeles. Studio stuff was done at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios. GRADE: B/B-