Joker: Folie á Deux: A Personal Journey And Review

It’s been five years since the first Joker came out, since a series of stairs in Queens became such a landmark and a lot has happened.

I didn’t see the first one because right before it came out, my father unexpectedly died and I really was not in a headspace to handle a film like this. Don’t worry, I am familiar with its inspirations, King of Comedy, Taxi Driver.

When the trailer came out for the sequel, my first thought was that this seems like a less problematic love story between Harley Quinn and The Joker as she seems to be a patient and there is a quote that she share’s “I didn’t feel so alone anymore.”

The film was premiering at the Venice Film Festival and by some weird coincidence, I was attending the Festival. I didn’t make it to the premiere but I did get tickets to the next morning’s showing. I took it as a sign, this seemed more of a different mood, not necessarily cheerful but definitely less depressing and well, one parent is dead, my other is alive and I am the Venice Film Festival. When life hands you lemons, you know?

So here are my thoughts, as somone who is familiar with the history of the comics, who knows what happens in first film, whether you like it or not:

First, they said this is a musical and I guess it is true, it just is not your typical musical. They love their 60s and 70s music. It includes “That’s Life” sung by Frank Sinatra (later for credits, Lady Gaga sings it) and it is one of my all time favorite songs.

The film takes place two years after Arthur Fleck aka The Joker is arrested for the murders he committed in the first film. (You do need to know what happened in the first film to understand what is going on in this. I heard what happens over the years and read what happened to refresh my memory.) Harvey Dent, the prosecution is going for the death penalty. Arthur’s lawyer, played by Catherine Keener wants to prove that Arthur is suffering from trauma and was mentally incompetent.

While in prison, Arthur has lost even more weight, and any real will or spark. The guards, especially the main guard, played by Brendan Gleeson who loves to whistle and sing, keep teasing for a joke.

When Gleeson says he is rewarding Arthur for good behavior to go to the choir, Arthur meets a woman whose voice brings back a spark in him. Enter: Lee, played by Lady Gaga. While Gleeson is distracted showing off to the choir instructor his talents, Lee and Arthur have a short conversation.

“Is it really you (The Joker)?”
“Yeah.”
“When I saw you on Murray Franklin Show, I kept thinking, ‘I hope this guy blows his head off,’ and then you did and I knew, for the first time, I wasn’t alone anymore.”

They share a song together and things begin to shift in Arthur. He even has his laughter back, not just his condition but in general. When she shares how her father died, he starts to laugh and apologizes, “Sorry, it’s not funny.” But she laughs too.

We soon learn that in the last two years, there was a TV movie and a book made about the murders. Everyone thinks it was five murders but we know there were six, with him murdering his mother.

As he preps for his trial, Lee and Arthur grow closer, pulling a couple of stunts that costs them trouble. What is unique is that Lee instigates it.

In one scene, the prison is allowed to watch a 1950s Fred Astaire musical and Lee suggests they sneak out. Arthur says, “No, they will put me in the hole. (Besides), we will miss the musical number.”

But she doesn’t take no for an answer. This is different from the comics or from past reiterations, especially in the beginning of their relationship. Harley is a troublemaker but The Joker would encourage it.

Eventually, they are separated, Lee tells Arthur she is being taken out of the institution because her parents think he is a bad influence on her. Sure, if only that was the case in other iterations.

Now that she is free, she promises to come to his court cases which she does. With Lee’s support, and of course, his fans, he has more hope. Let the real show begin.

I wont go on further as it gets into spoilers but overall, I enjoyed it. Here are some reasons why I knew I would not be able to handle the first film:

I can’t handle bullying and with my dad’s death, I did not want to feel even more miserable. From the trailer of the first film, we could see that Arthur was misunderstood, he wanted to be accepted and be a source of joy for people as a clown or comedian.

Stand up comedy is also brutal, when you fail on stage, you fail massively. A joke lands poorly and it is like the end of the world.

There is no question that in this world, Arthur/The Joker has been abused and he was not born evil. He brings out the daringness in not just himself but others. You see it in the crowds of supporters in both films (not a spoiler, we see them in the trailers).

In this film, we see that if there is bullying, it is going to be in prison, mostly by guards to the prisoners.

We know that he meets Lee and that they make a connection so he is no longer so alone in the world.

And then there is the music. So when he performs singing, it is not as a comedian which is better because, well even if you suck at singing, you have a little dance you could do or it wont be as big of a deal.

After the film, we all clapped as we hear Lady Gaga singing my favorite, “That’s Life” and while on ferries or in line for gelato, strangers who saw the film discussed it. Some did not like it. But I did, I appreciate that it tried to show the progression of a character, and a storyline.

It reminded me of the show Fleabag. The first season was about grief and the second season while just as good (some might say even better), it was not the same topic and did not give the same feeling.

 So, give it a chance, ignore the reviews of haters, just don’t expect it to be exactly like the first one. Sequels rarely ever are but that doesn’t mean they aren’t just as good as the original.

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