Joker: Folie à Deux - Is the Joke Worth Retelling?

Knock Knock! Who’s There?

Open that door and smile; the clown prince of crime is back after five years of dormancy. Joker: Folie à Deux is a direct sequel to the 2019 juggernaut, Joker. Despite polarizing critics, its predecessor was a major hit in every other field. Audiences gave it positive reactions, was nominated for multiple Academy Awards- winning two for Best Score and Best Actor- and made over one billion dollars at the worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing R rated film of all time- a record it would hold for five years before being dethroned by this year’s Deadpool & Wolverine. 

Despite the first film ending on a pretty conclusive note, because of its mega success, a sequel was all but inevitable. Most of the creative team from the original came back to create the second part, including director Todd Phillips, known for his work on comedy films such as The Hangover trilogy, Old School, and Road Trip. However, things aren’t looking bright for Folie à Deux compared to the 2019 movie.

The sequel is getting much more negative press, currently sporting a 39 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes along with an abysmal audience score of 37 percent (for context, the first movie has a 68 percent and 89 percent respectively). Even from a financial standpoint, it is looking to do worse than its predecessor, currently tracking a $55-60 million opening weekend on a $200 million budget, compared to the first Joker’s $96 million opening and budget of more than half of Folie à Deux. 

Despite the negative press and suspicious box office numbers, I still wanted to give this movie a try given my love of the first Joker–on Oct. 3, 2024, I booked a ticket at Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas, just a 6-minute drive from campus, and saw the film. The question remains, though: is this film an underrated gem of a sequel, or were the critics right all along?

Putting a Smile on that Face

Joker: Folie à Deux takes place two years after the events of Joker, with Arthur Fleck, also known as the Joker, awaiting trial for the crimes he committed in that film. Along the way, he meets a woman named Lee Quinzel (this movie’s interpretation of Harley Quinn); the two develop feelings for each other, leading to a romance that coincides with the court proceedings as everything around them starts to climb in intensity. The film features Joaquin Phoenix, reprising his role from the first movie, along with Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, and Catherine Keener among others.

There’s a massive amount of talent involved with this film. In fact, it would be dishonest of me to say that there wasn’t any sort of merit in the final picture; despite the polarization of it, I still think there’s a lot to commend. 

Namely, this is a very visually pleasing movie. Rather than rely on big budget special effects to create action setups and fantastical settings, the film relies on the camera, which makes way for gorgeous cinematography and production design. This is especially evident in sequences involving singing and dancing; the lighting and colors of these setpieces kept my eyes on the screen for the entire runtime.

I can also praise the majority of the performances. While their characters range in terms of overall quality, the actors do provide a lot of emotion and commitment to their roles, with Phoenix and Gaga being the strongest of the lot. All of these aspects are backed by a great musical score from returning composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, with tracks that match on screen events quite nicely. Surprisingly, though, the score is not the only portion of the film that deals with music…

A Sour Note

After Folie à Deux was announced, it was revealed that the film would be a musical with song and dance numbers scattered throughout. Already, this concept raises a major feeling of suspicion given the first movie’s dramatic, tense, and grounded approach of a character study. While the first Joker did have a few dance scenes, they were never the focus of the whole movie, whereas the sequel utilizes them for a much grander portion of the runtime. 

Despite the beautiful production design and vocal talents of Phoenix and Gaga, these sequences usually feel out of place in the grand scheme of the picture. They also overstay their welcome very quickly, as each subsequent musical number feels more random and out of place. In turn, this creates an inconsistent tone as the film tries to balance these music sequences with the romance between Fleck and Quinzel, along with the courtroom scenes as the former’s trial plays out. While I can respect the movie for trying to take a different approach, it ultimately did not work as I started rolling my eyes after a new musical sequence started.

The Joke was Funnier the First Time

The musical sequences and tone were not even the only issues the film had, as the script has its own fair share of glaring issues, including a few characters. Some of them are not given a proper time to shine despite the talent of their performers. For example, Brendan Gleeson plays a guard at Arkham, the asylum where Fleck resides. Despite a few decent interactions between him and Fleck, he does not get too much screen time. I wish they built upon him and his relationship with Arthur a bit more, since it would have made him less forgettable.

However, the biggest waste of talent for me was surprisingly Gaga. While her lack of screen time is not as evident as Gleeson’s and she does sing well in the music scenes, she still does not get much to do despite the trailers implying she would. The love story between her and Phoenix’s characters does not feel genuine, as the film would rather have the two of them sing another song rather than actually develop their bond. In turn, this makes for an unremarkable portrayal of Harley Quinn, a character known for having a certain flair and energy which Gaga sadly lacks. 

The script also makes a plethora of questionable choices with Fleck’s character arc. There’s a lot I could cover here, but I do not want to risk spoiling the movie for anyone who wants to see it. What I will say is that there are several scenes that completely undermine what made the first movie so well-regarded. This is especially evident during the final 20-25 minutes of the movie, with the ending scene in particular leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Getting What it Deserves

Overall, it pains me to say this, but Joker: Folie à Deux is a highly disappointing sequel that was not worth the five year wait. While I can respect the efforts of the cast, musical score, and cinematography, the film does not work due to its inconsistent tone, forgettable characters, questionable script, pointless musical numbers, and unsatisfactory conclusion. This just goes to show, a movie does not always warrant a sequel, even if it made over a billion dollars the first go around. 

I sadly cannot recommend this movie, not even to fans of the first Joker or musicals; I respect the different approach, but I do not see myself watching this movie a second time. My advice is to stick with the first Joker and leave Folie à Deux by itself. 

As much as I wanted to love this movie like I did the predecessor, this joke could not stick the landing; rather than putting a smile on my face, it left me with a disappointed frown instead.

My Rating