Folie à Deux is good, actually

I am not the biggest fan of Todd Phillip’s Joker. I think it’s okay, but it’s nothing groundbreaking. Its whole shtick was done better in the Scorsese movies that it so obviously owes much of its structure to. I also don’t think it was a very good dive into the comic book character of the Joker. So believe me when I say, I was never really that interested in Joker: Folie à Deux.

Over time, director Phillips has reaffirmed my belief that he isn’t really interested in adapting a comic book. And comments from Phillips such as, “I think Arthur would be in awe of the alpha male that is Batman. I really do. I think Arthur would look up and appreciate it,” didn’t really make me any more optimistic about this movie.

But I can’t deny, when they announced a sequel that would be a musical, I was immediately hooked. It sounded like the perfect kind of movie to bounce off of and refute everything I didn’t really enjoy about Joker. And in many ways, I got my wish with Joker: Folie à Deux.

Release date, rating, and runtime

Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters on October 4. Just like its predecessor, Joker: Folie à Deux is rated R. Joker: Folie à Deux contains strong language, sexual themes, depictions of violence, and lots of smoking. I watched this movie in regular 2D, but it is also available in IMAX and 4DX.

What I liked about Joker: Folie à Deux

A strange sequel with a strong message

Joker: Folie à Deux takes place not too long after the events of 2019’s Joker. The movie primarily follows the trial of Arthur Fleck and his budding romance with Gaga’s Harley Quinn, shortened to Lee in Joker: Folie à Deux. Gaga and Phoenix carry a surprising level of chemistry with one another throughout the film, and the musical set pieces are good, if not a little too disjointed for their own good.

At its core, Joker: Folie à Deux is a movie about how much it sucks to be the Joker. From start to finish, this movie thoroughly tears down any semblance of “literally me” that Fleck could’ve carried in the first movie. And that is a good thing. Whereas the ending of the original Joker feels far too content to end on a triumphant Joker, Joker: Folie à Deux feels much more like a splash of cold water.

The Joker is a terrible person, and he is a terrible person to be. Fleck is a product of abuse and years of systemic mistreatment. Someone that has been that supremely let down by the world around them doesn’t tend to emerge victorious when they lash out. Joker: Folie à Deux seeks to drill that idea deep into your head. Everything that could go bad for Fleck in this movie does.

Throughout this movie, Fleck continues to be alone and abused. His abuse is now at the hands of prison guards and his so-called fans. Even though he has Lee, he is still deeply alone in this movie. Lee and his other fans are not there for Fleck, they are there for Joker. And the moment Fleck fully rejects Joker in this movie, everything goes away. Fleck’s actions as the Joker in the first movie ultimately lead him to be more vulnerable and alone than he ever has been.

And what Joker: Folie à Deux does very heavy-handedly is show that if Fleck had actually confided in the people that were genuinely trying to help him, even if that meant confronting the worst parts of himself, things probably would have been okay. Or, at the very least, better than how they turned out. Unsurprisingly, Phoenix turns in another stellar performance as Fleck. The grief you see the character go through in Joker: Folie à Deux is palpable. There’s a very raw level of emotion Phoenix displays within this movie that simply can’t be conveyed through words.

Opposite Phoenix, Gaga’s performance in this movie is also phenomenal. Though her screentime does feel a little short, especially for a star as beloved as Gaga, she still does great work in the time that she does have in the film.

Joker: Folie à Deux also boasts a great supporting cast, with Brendan Gleeson turning in a solid performance as a nasty prison guard. Harry Lawtey also gives a fun, if not one-sided performance as Harvey Dent.

Much like the first film, Joker: Folie à Deux has a haunting score and leans heavily on the 1970s aesthetic. Both of these aspects still feel great, and lend to a visually and audibly distinct movie. As distinct as Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux feel as films, this level of audio-visual harmony helps to tie the two together.

What I didn’t like about Joker: Folie à Deux

Let’s be proud of musicals again

Warner Bros.

There is a lot wrong with Joker: Folie à Deux. But, I don’t really think any of it is too damning. My biggest gripe is the refusal on the marketing end to call this movie a musical. No, the characters aren’t singing in every scene. But, they do sing way too much to call this movie “not a musical.” And it’s okay. I understand that there are some people that wouldn’t have seen this movie if they knew it was a musical going in. However, I’d argue that a surprise musical is way more alienating. I’d also argue that the musical aspect isn’t even the most alienating part of Joker: Folie à Deux.

As I touched on earlier, Joker: Folie à Deux goes out of its way at all times to tell the audience that the Joker sucks and that it’s truly awful to be the Joker. Joker: Folie à Deux almost feels ashamed of the first movie. And it’s an interesting feeling to grapple with. I personally enjoyed that aspect, but I can also see why it would be alienating to a large portion of viewers.

Joker: Folie à Deux also falls victim to something that’s become more and more common with comic book movies in the last decade, which is putting things in the trailer that aren’t in the movie. This practice just needs to stop. The most iconic shot of the trailers, the Joker and Harley stomping down the stairs together, isn’t even in the movie.

And on the subject of comic book movies, Joker: Folie à Deux feels downright ashamed to be a comic book movie. Fleck is still not the Joker from the comic books in any stretch of the imagination. Fleck is a totally unique character, and that’s fine. But it feels jarring when the movie tries pretty hard to give a mostly accurate background to Gaga’s take on Harley Quinn.

In Joker: Folie à Deux, Lee is a psychology grad student named Harleen Quinzell. So far, so good. She abandons her promising future for the chance to meet and get close to the Joker. Still, very stellar. But as far as sticking to the source for Harley Quinn, this is where the train stops. This movie’s interpretation of Quinn is laughably bad when held up to the high bar set by 2019’s Birds of Prey. Not that Gaga isn’t giving her all to this role. But, unfortunately, this role is not giving it’s all to Gaga. Lee is a very uninspired take on the character that feels less like Harley Quinn and more like clown-themed Ted Bundy fan.

There are other issues abound as well, such as the movie having approximately zero interest in the setting of Gotham, which is plainly just New York City in this movie. There is also Harvey Dent, who is a feisty, young assistant DA in this movie. Lawtey does his best with the character, but that mainly just means being a smug prosecutor that wants Fleck sentenced to death.

Just like 2019’s Joker randomly throws in a scene near the end where Thomas and Martha Wayne get shot, Joker: Folie à Deux goes out of its way to throw in a bit where Dent gets half of his face burned. Joker and Joker: Folie à Deux’s aversion to the comic books would be more palatable without any scenes that feel like they’re only there to say, “fine, here you go.”

And of course, there are the musical numbers themselves. Gaga and Phoenix both give great performances, but these musical set pieces feel very half-baked at times. While I disagree with not marketing this movie as a musical, I can also say that if I had expected a certain level of musical quality, I would’ve been disappointed.

Should you see Joker: Folie à Deux?

At least once, just for the sake of it

Warner Bros.

I whole-heartedly believe that Joker: Folie à Deux is a film worth seeing. It’s a strange experience that just feels ashamed all around. This movie feels ashamed to be a musical, ashamed to be a comic book movie, and most of all, it feels ashamed to be a sequel to Joker.

That shame permeates the entire watching experience. If you felt a tinge of sympathy or “literally me” while watching Joker, Joker: Folie à Deux aims to thoroughly pulverize that feeling from your body on a molecular level.

Joker: Folie à Deux clashes the direction and acting of the first movie with a tonally opposite story. Joker feels like the most triumphant movie of all time compared to Joker: Folie à Deux. While I do wish that the marketing of this movie had been upfront about Joker: Folie à Deux being a musical, I am glad that the very defeatist nature of this movie was left to be discovered in theaters. It’s a gut punch in the best way possible.

And as strange as the whole thing is, it compels me. I cannot say anything less than that I loved this movie. Joker: Folie à Deux is strange, confused, and ashamed, but it is hell-bent on saying something. Even if that something isn’t anything that anyone should’ve had to say. Joker: Folie à Deux is absolutely worth your time, at the very least just once.