In 2019 Todd Phillips' dared to do what most filmmaker's feared the most, that being shining a spotlight on the backstory of one of the most iconic, crazy and well-crafted comic book characters of all time.
The character of 'Joker' has been portrayed more times than you can count on one hand throughout film and television across various generations. From Jack Nicholson's wacky portrayal in Tim Burton's 1989 'Batman' to Jared Leto's 'gangster-inspired' take in David Ayer's 'Suicide Squad', each new rendition of the character seemed to have it's own unique traits.
But it wasn't until 2019 that we turned our heads away from the character of 'Joker' and paid attention to the character of 'Arthur Fleck' as well as the storyline behind how he became the iconic villain that continues to haunt the streets of Gotham city to this very day.
One thing about this movie that must be mentioned is the feeling of an unnecessary presence. Todd Phillips' undoubtedly created a cinematic masterpiece with his work on 'Joker', and it's a common thought amongst filmlovers everywhere that the film should have been left for exactly what it was, a stand-alone villain origin story.
Nevertheless, half a decade later fans are handed the sequel to a film that not only received 11 Academy Award nominations but earned Joaquin Phoenix his first well-deserved Oscar, through the form of 'Joker: Folie À Deux'.
The term "Folie À Deux", in English can be translated to "shared madness" or even "madness for two", so given this, it doesn't take a genius to discover the fact that Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck is alone no more, as he is joined by none other than Lady Gaga's intriguing and unique representation of Lee Quinzel, or at least we formerly know her as Harley Quinn.
The addition of Lady Gaga to the call sheet of this film does add a significant amount of attraction for movie fans. Gaga has shown time and time again that she can excel both on stage and on screen with a handful of critically-acclaimed performances in Bradley Cooper's 'A Star Is Born' and Ridley Scott's 'House Of Gucci'.
And for what it's worth, Lady Gaga does do a solid job in portraying a unique and interesting perspective on the character of Lee Quinzel, a young woman who quickly falls in love with Arthur Fleck after they cross paths at a mental institution. But if you take away all of the musical numbers that she performs in, as good as they are, she isn't actually left with a whole lot to play with.
And this doesn't only go for the role of Lee Quinzel, but this could actually be argued for the entirety of the film itself.
When it was announced that the sequel to one of the most unique and interesting comic book movies of all time would be a musical, there were some eyebrows raised. But when you throw one of the most iconic musical artists of all time into the mix, those raised eyebrows quickly turn into excited smiles.
Unfortunately those smiles of excitement weren't worth making our cheekbones work overtime as the addition of these musical sequences, albeit cinematically and visually stunning, contribute absolutely nothing to the overall progression of the film.
Some of the musical numbers can be entertaining and provide audiences with a rhythmic tune to tap their feet along to, but ultimately they seem to serve no purpose throughout the entirety of this film other than to provide Fleck and Quinzel a platform to express how in love they are with each other.
And unless you are a hopeful romantic, you are bound to get sick of this.
Having said that, it also feels as though these musical numbers have to be included because without them, there would be that much meat to the film for us audience members to bite our teeth into. It almost seems as though the inclusion of these musical numbers serve the sole purpose of distracting us from a storyline that is short, empty and disappointing.
Aside from that, Phoenix slips perfectly back into the shoes of Arthur Fleck almost as though he never took them off. And although it is highly unlikely that the Academy would award him with so much as a nomination for his like-for-like portrayal of Arthur Fleck, the actor does certainly meet the high standards that he set for himself back in 2019.
All in all, the presence of this film felt unnecessary when it was announced and after viewing, this still feels the case. Despite how visually appealing the musical numbers are and the never-tiring vocals of Lady Gaga, the whole idea of this movie being labelled as a 'musical' is uncalled for and adds nothing to it's weak and empty storyline.
PrimeTime Films Score: C-
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