"Joker: Folie à Deux" As Tiring as You'd Expect

 

    Well, I suppose that's what you get asking for a sequel to a movie that probably never should have gotten a sequel. Do you want to watch a musical? Watch something, anything else, you will enjoy it more than whatever this movie is. Do you really want something with Folie à Deux in it's name? Just listen to the Fall Out Boy album, I promise you'll enjoy it much more. Do you want a serious critique on the shortcomings of the mental health system? Well you also won't get it here, but if you're my sister maybe you'll see something in it that I didn't. All I can say is, bravo to Todd Phillips if this movie really is just meant to be a giant fuck you to the corporations that asked him to make a second, because I genuinely can't see it any other way. Like I get that they try to kind of make the "Arthur Fleck is mentally insane case", but that was kind of the point they tried to make with the last movie, people just watched it and were like wow this is so me. Anyways, Lady Gaga must have been paid 100 million dollars for this film because that's what I'd be asking for on the minimum to attach my name to whatever this is.

    Where do I even start? I suppose I'll start with the most "shocking" parts of the film. My sister thought that this film did a good job of exploring the fractured psyche of Arthur Fleck, and I suppose to that I say, they remind you that he's mentally ill. Though, if you watched the first film you already knew that, he was imagining he had a romantic relationship with his neighbor, and it ultimately went no where. He ends up putting on this face, this new personality, which you could argue is a "fractured psyche" but I feel is just a front to make him feel better. This persona, this character he plays is what endears him to masses of people, who see him in themselves, in a woman who has devoted herself entirely to him (and frankly I didn't feel was that complex), and is ultimately what consumes him to the point of his untimely death. All of this to say that, if it wanted to make an actual point about mental health, it did a piss poor job about it. This "mental illness" he supposedly had was I kid you not literally raped out of him by guards. He finally overcame all of his trauma, and finally faced the reality of his actions by facing new trauma, and being raped for it. This was after he began to call the guards who were nice to him terrible people, and the Joker fame/power was getting to his head. Now, all of this to say I don't think he should have been raped, but I do think that if this movie was somehow supposed to be some critique about how we treat people in society, I don't think it was a good one.

    But hey, it's a musical right? So is there anything of substance? Absolutely not, it just shows how delusional joker is. In fact, I'd go so far to argue that it detracts from the movie quite a bit, and was shoehorned in because they have Lady Gaga, so why not include her because it would be Phillips further shitting on the Joker persona. After the first 30 minutes, every other scene turns into a musical, and they sing about the same fucking thing the entire time. It's not even like they're using it to pass the time or extend the plot. The songs only exist to pad out this movie, all they sing about his how much Harley and Joker love each other, which you understand after the first song about them loving each other. None of them are even real by the way, this is all just in his head, it's part of his Joker delusion, because they stop once again after he gets raped. My favourite song they sung was Close to You by the Carpenters because that's a good song, and also a cover.

    I find it hard to come out of this film thinking this wasn't just a big screw you to anyone who thought they were like Joker. Yes, I understood he definitely had trauma and some mental illness, but the Joker persona was something he very clearly put on because he thought it made him powerful, it made him feel liked, which was something he had trouble doing before. Thus when he was raped this illusion of power and security was shattered to the point where he no longer wanted or needed it, and everyone abandoned him. I understand that's not a healthy way to live, but if you wanted a real critique on mental health, there were better ways to do it then by shoehorning in a bunch of musical acts, and having the main character be randomly stabbed to death unceremoniously at the end. Todd Phillips must have really hated the Joker, or people who thought he was sympathetic. Like no, everything is in his head and he just wants to feel liked, and he is going about it the wrong way. 

    I don't know what to say, honestly some of the shots/camera work was pretty impressive regardless for the film. It was quite dynamic, in a good way, and that is about the nicest thing I can say about this film. Actually, it's not as bad as people say, I do agree that it lacks cohesion, mostly because all of the musical scenes are quite jarring, and really have no place in this film. They are just shoved in between every scene to remind people that he's crazy and imagining he's on a TV show. Also, they smoke so many cigarettes in this movie it's kind of hilarious. Like I just kept on watching them smoke and smoke and smoke it was absurd. This movie must have been paid for by big Tobacco. I suppose the reason this movie infuriates me so much is my sister is legitimately mad at me for disliking this film. She says I came into it with too many biases, but I just find it hard to see this film as anything other than Todd Phillips shitting on the whole Joker thing. I mean what else could him being raped, the courthouse blowing up (which was objectively hilarious by the way), being stabbed to death, and musical cutscenes in ones head even mean? That society mistreats people with mental illnesses, that we should all probably be kinder? Those are the exact same message from the first film, just this time there's no "le epic joker moment" where he starts a movement and the city begins to burn down. Instead his character is unceremoniously stripped down to its bits, laid bare for all to see, and destroyed and mocked at once there's nothing left. Harley is the fans, they only liked him for who he is, they didn't care that he was mentally ill, they just felt like the people saying he needed help were against them, even though they were just trying to help him.

Final Score: ????/100 (Probably a 40 tbh)

        This felt like a waste of my time, and I would not watch it again. To be fair I was not the biggest fan of the first film anyways. I am a comic book fan, but also this movie basically just uses the whole "joker" thing in name, it doesn't really do anything with the lore of the film. Sure it has Harley's origin story, but they change it up a little bit so she's just some adoring fan, she never actually interviews him, just knows the dude from the movie. She's still just a rich girl who saw the man "who wanted to change the world" and loved the idea of him, not him actually. Sort of like Joker actually, who mostly loved Harley because she showed him love, and very little else if we're being honest. I just have nothing else to say about this film. It isn't the worst film I've ever watched, but if we're being honest there were more entertaining ways to shit on the whole Joker thing, like this really does just feel like a drag, especially because of the musical elements. I give up, I've written too much about this film already please just watch something else.