Entertainment headlines claimed that moviegoers were walking out of “Joker: Folie à Deux” – also known as “Joker 2” since it debuted at the Venice International Film Festival a month ago.
And, after enduring the two-plus hour flick last week, I can see why.
To be fair, I didn’t enjoy its predecessor either, but I had hopes that this sequel might have been an improvement.
My hopes were proven false and I can readily say that this is the worst movie I’ve seen so far this year.
And it’s not due to the acting skills either!
The storyline is boring and adds nothing of value while taking well-known DC Comic’s characters and turning them into one-dimensional parodies of themselves.
Joker: Folie à Deux is a 2024 American musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips from a screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver.
Loosely based on DC Comics characters, it is the sequel to Joker (2019).
The film stars Joaquin Phoenix reprising the title role as Arthur Fleck, with Lady Gaga joining as his love interest Lee Quinzel while Zazie Beetz also reprises her role from the previous film along with Brendan Gleeson, Steve Coogan, Harry Lawtey, Leigh Gill, and Catherine Keener joining the cast.
The movie is 138 minutes long and rated R for some strong violence, language throughout, some sexuality, and brief full nudity.
In an animated sequence, the Joker is impersonated by his shadow, who takes his place to perform his singing number for a TV show, and then abandons him on stage half-undressed, before three policemen arrive and beat him.
In 1983, Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) is in custody at Arkham State Hospital awaiting trial for the crimes he committed two years prior.
His lawyer Maryanne Stewart (Keener) plans to argue that Arthur has dissociative identity disorder and that his “Joker” personality is responsible for the crimes.
At a music therapy session, Arthur meets another patient, Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Gaga).
Lee confides to Arthur that she grew up in the same neighborhood he did, had an abusive father who died in a car crash, and was imprisoned after burning down her parents’ apartment building.
Lee also expresses her admiration for the Joker’s crimes and personality.
During a film screening, she tells Arthur she wants to escape, but he tells her he can’t and that she should just enjoy the movie – instead, Lee starts a fire.
She and Arthur are caught trying to escape and Arthur is placed in solitary confinement.
Lee seemingly visits him at night to say she is being released to avoid his influence, but promises to attend his trial, and they have sex.
During an interview with television personality Paddy Meyers (Coogan), Arthur sings to Lee through the television screen, deepening her love for him.
Things start to really circle the drain after Arthur’s interview and the trial scenes only further serve to make the flick drag on for what seems like forever.
In the end, it isn’t the musical sequences highlighting his delusions or escaping the truth of his situation that makes the movie something I won’t recommend – it’s the ridiculous flub of mixing Gotham City with New York during the courtroom scenes.
Overall, I’d recommend saving your money and avoiding this drag until you can stream it – and only then if you’re a fan of Phoenix or Gaga, otherwise it’s an utter waste.
