Joker Folie A Deux Review

If you were looking forward to Joker Folie a Deux I have one word for you: sorry. To say it was a flop was not enough. There were people walking out of the movie, people falling asleep in the movie, people very disappointed with director Todd Phillips because he doesn’t seem to understand when is an appropriate time for a musical number. My boyfriend asked me a very thoughtful question: which was worse, Folie A Deux or Madame Web? I said Madame Web was worse because at least Folie A Deux takes a stab at a more important and relevant topic which I will illuminate later in this review.

Here are some of the reasons that Folie a Deux was such a trainwreck:

1. Poorly timed musical numbers. This was something my friend Bill pinpointed right away. We’d be in the middle of an intense prison scene or a dramatic courtroom scene. Things usually weren’t looking too good for Arthur Fleck (aka Joker)  but he bursts into song just because he is so happy to have Harley Quinn by his side. I don’t know who chose the songs but it felt like they were randomly picked out of a hat from a 60’s jukebox. 

2. Breathy singing. Bill also commented on the fact that Joaquin Phoenix (Arthur Fleck) couldn’t sing. He actually can but it sounded very off key because Phoenix and Lady Gaga (Harley Quinn) were whispering when they were singing. When they were belting they did hit the notes. I don’t know why they spent much of the movie engaging in breathy singing because it wasn’t pleasant to listen to.

3. It dragged. My friend J.T. fell asleep.

4. It was unrealistic. It is revealed that Lady Gaga checked herself into Arkham Asylum just so she could meet Arthur Fleck and after meeting him she just checks herself out despite getting caught trying to escape with Fleck. That’s not how asylums work. You can’t just sign papers and walk out the next day. Even if you are a voluntary patient, they can hold you for up to 72 hours if they don’t think you are mentally stable, which she clearly isn’t. 

5. How the fuck was she able to visit him and have sex with him in solitary confinement? I chalked this to being in Arthur’s head like his girlfriend from the first movie but it was never fully explained.

There were one or two redeeming qualities about the movie. The first Joker movie which came out in 2019 kind of focused on the lack of resources for the mentally ill, which I think is very important and is being ignored by the lawmakers in this country. This Joker movie was about our broken prison system and this is portrayed loud and clear. There is a scene where it is alluded to that he is either beat up or sexually assaulted by the angry guards. It was a painful scene to watch. Honestly it reminded me of my time in the hospital (not as extreme of course) and it was painful to sit through. Oh yeah and

6. The ending sucked.