Five years ago, Todd Phillips unexpectedly shifted from comedies to directing and co-writing an origin story to one of DC Comics’ most popular villains ever created. That shift resulted in Joker. Though it remains a very controversial comic book movie for many out there, especially on social media, I’m one of the few who loved it and was completely surprised by how disturbed I was after it ended. It was the highest-grossing R-rated movie at the time, grossing over a billion dollars and receiving numerous accolades over awards season. Now, it was a question of whether the highly anticipated sequel Joker: Folie à Deux would have the same amount of greatness as its predecessor. Despite the excitement of seeing Joaquin Phoenix reprising his Oscar-winning performance, I’ve always thought it was better as a standalone film. Yet when something makes that much money, it’s more or less a studio thing. Given that this would be a jukebox musical, courtroom drama, and unconventional romance all in one, not everything here works. The follow-up, while okay enough, is more frustrating than I thought, and it’s hard not to feel a tinge of disappointment.

What’s the Story: Two years after murdering five people, including late-night talk show host Murray Franklin, Arthur Fleck, a.k.a. Joker (Phoenix), is held at the Arkham State Hospital in Gotham City, where he’s awaiting to stand trial for his crimes. Most citizens view him as a hero for the people, while District Attorney Harvey Dent seeks to throw in the death penalty for him. As part of his good behavior, Arthur takes part in a choir class in another ward where he meets fellow inmate Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga), who’s already a fan of his and immediately sparks up a relationship and stands by him when he stands on the televised trial.

It probably was a considerable challenge for Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver to make Folie à Deux distinctly different from the original, especially given the inevitable comparisons to Martin Scorsese classics. The original was a deep character study that delved into the madness of one’s mind, while this attempts to focus more on the structure of identity. They view Arthur as a man with two personas, whereas Joker is seen as responsible for the killings. The thought of a split personality caused by his childhood and the revelation of secrets later on in his life caused part of him to crack. The one thing he remembers from that night is the music, and it seems as though getting lost in his mind with a tune can make Arthur at least sane.

But with that ambition to please the fans and non-comic book readers, the story this time around isn’t as strong when touching on those themes in the way some perceived them once before. More or less, it becomes a bit of a mess as it goes on. This feeling telling us the aftermath of what Arthur caused in Gotham and dealing with the consequences in jail leads to an inconsistent pace, especially during the courtroom scenes, where we are given the information we previously knew. 

But when it’s a film with both Phoenix and Lady Gaga, how could you not appreciate them? Surprisingly, this is the first time Phoenix returns to one of his roles, but he doesn’t miss a beat. He makes Arthur/Joker a little more constrained due to his dual circumstances and the physicality that hasn’t changed without simply repeating what he gave to audiences years back. And having Gaga play this version of Harley Quinn was unexpected when the news broke of her casting, and it’s another role that proves she’s a talented, gorgeous actress. It’s a more tone-downed portrayal than what we’ve seen with Margot Robbie’s tenure in the DCEU. But there is never a doubt that Gaga has the skills to be a crazy character and has taken a liking to this man of chaos. Even though I wanted more development between the two early on or wanted Gaga to steal the spotlight, she and Phoenix provided a nice chemistry to match their insanity. A different spin on this messed-up relationship than how it was interpreted in the comics. 

This being a musical (yes) will make or break one’s overall enjoyment, believing it’s all pointless and doesn’t serve the story. As an occasional fan of them, did this need to be one? Probably not, and maybe it was the only way to sign on Gaga since her voice is amazing. This concept for the sequel made me curious, which made it feel different from the first. At first, the results are that it mostly pulled off how I expected since it had to be part of Arthur and Lee’s bonding. But in reality, it’s a very mixed bag that doesn’t always pay off. You have these musical sequences that you know come straight out of Arthur’s mind, with beautiful production design, costume design, and some of the best cinematography of the year from Lawrence Sher that’ll appeal to Broadway enthusiasts.

In some way, it’s like Joker meets Chicago. With both leads singing live and covering classic tunes from “That’s Entertainment!” and “To Love Somebody,” some could’ve been executed better. Phillips hasn’t explored the genre enough to capture the style, but it didn’t consistently paint them as reality or a complete fantasy. That alone is confusing to why they thought this angle was going work for anybody. A few songs and numbers didn’t leave me with a lasting impression. “The Joker” sequence was the main standout. Side note: Gaga’s recent companion album, “Harlequin,” doesn’t sound too bad, and her take on “The Joker” and the original piece “Happy Mistake” has been on repeat.

Just like the first, it’s going to be very divisive. But considering I loved Joker and didn’t consider the early word of mouth from Venice, it was disappointing to not find this superior. That said, I’ve very mixed on the experience and after sleeping on it, I’m more bummed that it didn’t thrill me. What I’m most confident will be polarizing is the ending, which didn’t work for me and left me uneasy. Unlilke the first, I don’t see it getting tons of Oscar nominations, especially since the reception seems to be less than positive than what we expected months prior.

Overall, Joker: Folie à Deux has writer/director Todd Phillips taking a swing to elevate a vastly different sequel than its 2019 predecessor. Although Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga made for a fantastic on-screen pairing, almost anything else around them doesn’t always come together perfectly or close to the shades of brilliance we’ve gotten before. As a whole, it’ll probably remain one of the most frustrating films in how it lacked a punch.

Grade: C+