JOKER: Folie a Deux

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to theatres this Friday from director Todd Phillips and Warner Bros. Pictures is the follow up to the 2019 film with JOKER: Folie a Deux.

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) has been at Arkham awaiting trial. Under the watchful eye of guard Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson), he is set into a routine of waking up, taking medication and watching television. Visiting him, attorney Maryanne Stewart (Catherine Keener), and he sees a young woman he later learns is Lee (Lady Gaga) and is instantly taken with her. At their first meeting, Lee makes it clear that she believes in the Joker.

Arthur finds a warmth in himself believing he has finally found someone who he can care for and be cared about. One thing stands in his way, the trail being held for the murders he committed. Stewart believes she can save her client by proving that his upbringing brought him to this point, but Arthur has other ideas. As his past, present and fantasy life collide – so does the life of the Joker.

Phoenix as Arthur/Joker has made the role his own and he did the best he could with what he was given. There is so much more than could have been done with this role but, instead, Phoenix’s talent wasn’t given the opportunity to expand the story toward a more believable storyline. That being said, if you are looking for the conflicted Arthur/Joker, Phoenix delivers.

Lady Gaga as Harley gives what she can to the role and that being her voice. This is not the Harley Quinn but instead just a Lee who sings through all the troubles in front of the “relationship” between herself and Joker.

Gleeson as Sulliver once again gets to play a tough character and he is so very good at it. Keener as Stewart wants to keep her client out of prison or death sentence but is fighting her own client to make that happen.

Other cast include Harry Lawtey as Harvey Dent, Leigh Gill as Gary Puddles, Ken Leung as Dr. Victor Liu, Jacob Lofland as Rickey Meline, Sharon Washington as Debra Kane, Bill Smitrovich as Judge Herman Rothwax, Ernie Bullock as Alfred Rubin Thompson, Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, Steve Coogan as Paddy Meyers.

This has to be the biggest disappointment to date as far as highly anticipated films go. If I wanted to spend over two hours watching a musical then I would go see a musical. When going to see a sequel to one of the hottest films made, I come with a set of expectations of action, solid story and something that resembles connection. That being said, the script is horrible, the two leading characters are forced into oblivion or purgatory (whichever) singing all the way and all the other actors are relegated to the role of extras without a purpose.

Sorry folks, I will be quite honest and say this is a film I won’t ever see again, not even if it’s free or I happen to pass it while channel surfing. It is as if writers Todd Phillips, Scott Silver and Bob Kane went into separate rooms, wrote whatever they wanted to be in the story and then the three came together and mashed their work together with no editing or thought, when they should have followed Harley Quinn’s idea of lighting a match and burning the score into ashes. Instead, the reigns were given to Phillips so that he could torture the audience with over two hours of singing that doesn’t add anything to the messy storyline.

The horrifying fact of it is that in one two-hour swoop, two of the most recognizable characters in comics have been sent to the garbage heap of failed time lines. The budget of the film is estimated at 200 million dollars and all I can think is that there is a better use in the world for that kind of money, and the world would have been a lot better for it. But no, no one dared to tell anyone – get it right or don’t do it at all. Why does Hollywood continue to throw out this kind of money without someone saying, “hey, this isn’t working”. Oh, I know, because audiences that are excited for what they think they will see are going to pay – but in a way that isn’t nice.

Characters that we have come to know love do not exist in director Phillips’ universe, making it seem as if they never existed at all. Using music and songs to portray the “obsession” of Arthur and Lee but it didn’t even do that!  The reason we love Harley Quinn and the Joker, aside from the horrible things they did, is the dark and deep obsession they have for one another – it’s not in this film at all. There is no connection between the two because they are too busy trying to sing. There is no story to their mind-bending obsession, even Harley’s character seemed more Joker-esque and it is uncomfortably awkward. Is this suppose show the audience that a woman control of the story? Even that doesn’t work. This was all so flat. The film is two hours and eighteen minutes of pure torture plain and simple.

In the title “Folie a Deux”, it means “Madness of Two” in French. Here’s a bit of trivia for you, it comes from two French psychiatrists in the 19^th century came up with it referring to two or more people that share the same madness. That is about the only interesting thing that came from the film for me but, sadly, I am refusing to share in the madness.

In the end – the world is a stage!