Joker: Folie a Deux movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Joker: Folie a Deux

This dark and musical sequel is now playing in theaters.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 2 hours 18 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C+

IN A NUTSHELL:

Todd Phillips directed the film, as well as co-wrote it with Scott Silver. Todd Phillips crushed it in the last Joker movie, but audiences and critics are hating on this sequel.

THINGS I LIKED:

The French words in the title “Folie a Deux” has double meaning. It’s a rare psychiatric syndrome when two or more people share a delusional belief system, such as the Joker persona and Arthur Fleck. It also refers to a “madness of two” or “shared madness” such as the romance between Joker and Lady Gaga’s character.
Joaquin Phoenix won an Academy Award for his performance in his last Joker movie. He’s incredible in this sequel too. We hear him sing and dance too. He was really nervous about the singing portions, so Lady Gaga coached him every day. Believe it or not, this is his first sequel in his entire career! He is so dedicated to his craft. He lost so much weight to play this role.
Both Joaquin and Lady Gaga required all of the cast and crew to call them by their character names so they could disappear in their roles. Mission accomplished.
I thought Lady Gaga was terrific in the movie A Star Is Born, so I was excited to see what she would do in this one. She won her Oscar for the song she wrote and sang in that film. She gives us a very different version of Harlequin (Harleen Quinzel) than previously seen by Margo Robbie. In this movie, she goes by Lee. I was sad to see her smoke because it could be harmful to her beautiful voice. She released a companion album called “Harlequin” to tie into the film’s launch.
I loved the music. My mother was a nightclub singer and sang many of the songs in the film. Joaquin isn’t a great singer like Lady Gaga, but he gives an impressive emotional performance.
All of the other cast members did a great job and feature Zazie Beetz, Jacob Lofland, Harry Lawtey, and 3 Academy Award nominees: Steve Coogan, Brendan Gleeson, and Catherine Keener.
This is the first DC Comics movie to be launched under the new DC Elseworlds banner. DC Comics created the name back in 1991 for movies that would take stories out of the “cannon” of their regular stories that were set in alternate realities like this sequel is.
Clearly, people have been interested in this sequel. Within the first 24 hours of releasing the trailer for this movie, it received 167 million views.
I wish this movie had some foreshadowing of a Batman-type character. The only thing we really get is a sign that says “Wayne” for Wayne Enterprises that a motorcade passes on the way to court.
Look closely and you might notice the rooftop set during one of the musical numbers was also used in the 2017 movie The Greatest Showman! I love that movie!
I love Easter eggs. For example, there’s a cartoon short at the beginning of the movie where we see someone in the crowd holding the sign that Arthur Fleck had stolen in the last movie that said, “Everything Must Go”. Another Easter egg shows up in the first song that Arthur and Lee sing together: “Get Happy” by Judy Garland from the 1950 movie Summer Stock. Arthur’s mother called him “Happy” in the last movie.
Visually, the movie is fantastic.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

Why would a someone who was put in an asylum for burning down a building be given a pack of matches?
The storytelling drags. Quite a few scenes could have been cut or shortened to take the film to a shorter watch.
The trailer showed an intriguing scene that doesn’t actually appear in the movie. It showed Arthur Fleck and Lee dancing down the courthouse stairs. Lee wears a blue dress that emphasizes her pregnant belly. There were other things in the trailer that also didn’t make it into the film.
The film’s budget was $200 million, which is more than three times what the first Joker cost.
So many are complaining that this movie shouldn’t have included musical numbers. I disagree. I think it allowed us to enter his fantasy and psychotic mind. It’s the shared, altered reality between Arthur and Lee.
The director doesn’t seem entirely sure what he wants to say. Is the movie a look inward and emotional trauma or an outward look at our broken society today that creates monsters like Joker? Can a movie effectively do both?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Tons of profanity, including F-bombs
An animated clip shows blood splatter, violence, and the rear end of a man
We see an intimate act (mostly clothes on).
Violence with blood

THEMES:

Emotional trauma
Mental illness
Crime
The power of music as music therapy and expression
Love
The desire for acceptance and understanding

FUNNY LINES:

“Knock, Knock.” – spoken by several people

INTERESTING LINES:

“I gotta be honest, Joker. I didn’t take you for a hopeless romantic.” – Jackie Sullivan (Brendan Gleeson)
“For once in my life, I didn’t feel so alone anymore.” – Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga)
“I love her. She gets me.” – Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix)
“We’re going to build a mountain…from a little hill.” – Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga)
“Did you lie to me?” – Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) “Sure. I mean everyone lies a little.” – Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga)
“You can do anything you want. You’re Joker.” Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga)
“Nobody knew I existed.” – Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix)
“They believe Arthur Fleck to be some kind of martyr. Well, he’s not. He’s a monster.” – Harvey Dent (Harry Dent)
“I’m nobody. I haven’t done anything with my life like you have.” – Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga)
“Look around. Look at all these people! I will no longer allow any of you to keep me down.” – Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix)
“All we had was the fantasy and you gave up.” – Lee Quinzel (Lady Gaga)