Joker: Folie A Deux (2024)

At a state hospital for dangerous criminals, Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) aka The Joker is awaiting trial for the murder of five people. It is there he meets a strange woman (Lady Gaga) who is fascinated by his persona of The Joker. Directed by Todd Phillips (THE HANGOVER). A sequel to the 2019 film, JOKER which was a massive hit and won Joaquin Phoenix a best actor Oscar. I had mixed feelings about the first JOKER movie but not about Phoenix's performance that was justly lauded. This film bombed at the box office and received negative reviews. Is it that bad? I don't think so. Oh, it's a failure all right but I liked that director Phillips took the sequel in a different direction which angered the original film's fanboys. He turned it into a nihilistic jukebox musical! Quentin Tarantino is a big fan of the film and called it a "big f*ck you to the audience" and that about sums it up. Who was the film designed for? JOKER fanboys wanted more of the same, not a musical and fans of movie musicals aren't interested in DC stuff. Alas, Phillips doesn't fully commit to the musicals aspect and only two numbers remotely work: Lady Gaga's rendition of Close To You and their duet on Gonna Build A Mountain. I'll chalk it up as an ambitious, often fascinating mess. With Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Zazie Beetz and Steve Coogan.