Joker: Folie à Deux — Top or Flop?
Written by: Janice Bonhomme
Photo Credit 1: Allociné
None of you could have missed the release of the new Joker movie produced by Todd Phillips: Joker Folie a Deux. If you’ve seen it, I bet your opinion on themovie isn’t great. If not... it’s not too late to skip watching it.
We all know the character of the Joker, the sworn enemy of Batman from the DC Comics univers, as well as his crazy girlfriend, Harley Quinn. This guy lives in a sinister and chaotic world, filled with madness and crime.
In this new movie, we follow the continuation of the Joker's life, portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, after he's sent to prison at the end of the first film.
The story tracks his movements between the prison (where he's held) and the courthouse (where his trial takes place) until he crosses paths with Harley Quinn, played by Lady Gaga, sparking the beginning of a semblance of a love story between them. Lady Gaga also introduces music at recurring moments throughout the film.
I collected the opinion of one viewer after she watched the two Joker movies. She described the movie as “not captivating” and “hard to follow” because of the many songs present in the movie. From what I heard in real life, most people didn’t like the musical aspect of the movie either.
Photo Credit 2: Rolling Stones
My interviewer said that the musical universe added to the film was too much and only created confusion in following the story. She also said that the relationship between the Joker and Harley Quinn was not at all the same as the original love story we know and so not so interesting.
Despite not liking the character played by Lady Gaga, she still highlighted her great acting skills and excellent singing abilities, but according to her, it didn't have a place in this film.
I watched the movie myself and was very disappointed. The story is flat, not much happens, and it feels like we're waiting throughout the entire movie for the story to actually begin. The songs sung by Lady Gaga’s character are very good, but they have no relevance to the story. It seems like the songs are placed randomly between scenes without really making any sense.
As the author of Roger Ebert explains to us, the songs used in the movie came from: “The great American Songbook (“Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered”) and ‘60s international pop (“To Love Somebody,” originated by the Bee Gees and further popularized by Janis Joplin) and more.”
The person I interviewed stated, "it feels like the script was written and adapted specifically for Lady Gaga" and I agree with her. I had the impression that the film revolved around Lady Gaga's character rather than the Joker, even though the film is called "Joker," so we expect the focus to be on him.
One author in The Daily Tar Heel thinks the same as me, that the plot never begins. He said that “nothing that happens to the Joker in this movie matters until the abrupt ending, which could have happened just as abruptly in the first 10 minutes.” I think the author is completely right in what he says and I totally agree with him because the whole action of the movie completely happened at the end.
Photo Credit 3: Paris Match
In my opinion, the first Joker directed by Todd Phillips was much better. There was a real story to follow, with no songs constantly interrupting the scenes. We were really focused on the Joker's character, wanting to understand his actions and why he is so crazy. If you remember, there was also a small love story in the first Joker, but it didn't take up the entire screen like this one did.
Like we can read in the Slate article, the first Joker of 2019 won the Golden Lion (the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival) and garnered a leading 11 Oscar nominations. This confirms that the first movie was a big success.
Also, as the author of Time points out, Joker: Folie à Deux has caused the Joker to lose all the popularity that Todd Phillips had managed to gain for him in 2019. This film disappointed fans, and I think it made some distance themselves from the Joker character.
