30/40
The film’s subtitle, “Folie a Deux,” means “Madness of Two” in French
Tale
Failed comedian Arthur Fleck, struggling with his dual identity, meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn, while incarcerated in Arkham State Hospital. Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson, and director-writer Todd Phillips share what scared them most about tackling the musical sequel. Plus, Gaga talks about how she got into and stayed in her dark character. This initially led to speculation about Harley Quinn appearing in the film, which was soon after confirmed.
It is also known as Lasègue-Falret syndrome
The name Folie a Deux comes from 19th-century French psychiatrists Charles Lasègue and Jules Falret. The term was coined to refer to two or more people who share the same madness or delusion. The jury president speaks of the “people of New York” instead of Gotham City. This is because New York State is the plaintiff in a criminal suit, and this version of Gotham is evidently set in New York state (most versions place Gotham in New Jersey).
Merrily We Roll AlongWritten by Eddie Cantor, Murray Mencher, and Charles Tobias
Arthur Fleck: [Written as a spiteful autograph with a sad smiley face] I HOPE YOU HAVE CANCER. The film opens with a Looney Tunes title sequence, with the Warner Bros logo surrounded by rings and the Joker’s face.. Featured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The Wicked Discovery of a Lifetime (2022). I loved the first Joker movie directed by Todd Phillips, but I have to say, what the heck were they thinking when they decided to make the sequel?
Joaquin Phoenix gives a decent performance, but it’s not as good as it was in the first film
Unlike the first film, this one has virtually no story, but rather a series of weird, delirious vignettes thrown together with musical numbers that got old really quickly and made the runtime feel much longer than it needed to be for how unentertaining it actually was. I kept waiting in anticipation thinking this must be building up to some big moment that sadly never comes, and instead I was left with nothing but disappointment when the film ends on a worse note than it started. I was on the fence when I saw the trailer, but now that I’ve seen it I wish I hadn’t. If you’re a fan of the first film, it’s a big question whether you’ll like it or not, but I wouldn’t recommend it.