(Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)
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(“Joker: Folie a Deux” trailer courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)
Coming directly after a legend or a classic can become a tall task.
Just ask the quarterback who immediately succeeded Tom Brady with the New England Patriots whoever that may be.
Doing a Google search to find out who that is, is not that important right now.
But you get the point, don’t you?
While “Joker: Folie a Deux” is a cool continuation of the almost flawless “Joker,” it is almost impossible to follow perfection even with the vocal chops of the flawless singer, Lady Gaga.
In 2019, “Joker” almost made Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) a sympathetic figure despite his horrendous crime spree towards the end of the film.
Many people know a person that comes across as a little weird and eccentric.
And because of their peculiarities, “normal” people see the strange person as a punching bag and a punch line to heartless and cruel jokes.
However, many of those same people never take time to wonder what made that weird person weird in the first place.
Often, people become a little offbeat because of what they experienced growing up.
Those that have some type of psychological issue often experience a lot of abuse whether physical or sexual.
Those that have some of type of psychological issue often get that way because of the psychological problems of those raising them.
If a person has a delusional parent, then it might be understandable that their child suffers from delusions because it is probably all that they know.
And those that experience abusive behavior often become abusers too, unfortunately.
As a result, when a person that has experienced so much dysfunction and bullying acts out against all the people who tormented them in the past, many can understand it.
However, understanding revenge does not equal condoning retribution.
And sympathizing with someone’s plight does not mean celebrating their violent response.
However, in “Joker: Folie a Deux,” Gotham City and the rest of the world has begun celebrating the murderous rampage of Arthur Fleck.
Although Arthur is locked up for his crimes while he awaits trial, Hollywood has made him into a cult hero with his own television movie depicting his crime spree.
Because of the excesses of the rich residents of Gotham City like the Wayne family, the have nots have already turned against the elites that control the city.
In “Joker,” the have nots took to the streets to protest the wealthy.
Therefore, Arthur’s murderous rampage makes him a local hero like Bonnie and Clyde became during the Great Depression when banks lost the life savings of ordinary, hard-working Americans.
In “Joker: Folie a Deux,” Arthur’s fame extends from the television screen to the jail house as other inmates look at him in reverence, while the jailers look to him for comic relief.
If the one-time aspiring comic tells the jailers a joke, he gets to indulge in a cigarette.
He might even get some off the books conjugal visits as well.
However, his fame and notoriety might hurt his pending legal trial because life or death might hang in the balance of him being labeled as competent or incompetent to stand trial.
If his lawyer can convince the judge that Arthur suffers from delusions and split personality disorders, his life might get spared.
And more importantly, he might get the medical treatment that his lawyer feels he needs and deserves.
However, fame, and even infamy, is a heck of a drug.
Once a person gets a taste of notoriety, it is hard to go back to being an insignificant and unknown person who constantly gets victimized by those more powerful than them.
Furthermore, with fame comes leachers and users.
When many see fame in other people, they see opportunity and exploitation for themselves.
Therefore, the famous person, or infamous in Arthur’s case, might think people care about them because they are finally getting attention.
But some of those fans might be using them to their own benefit.
And once Arthur is of no benefit to them, he might find himself in a worse position than before his 15 minutes began.
“Joker: Folie a Deux” is not a great movie.
However, it is a solid watch.
“Joker” was dark, demented and dope with a sympathetic antihero.
And although “Joker: Folie a Deux” starts off strong, it eventually loses its momentum before it ends well with an unpredictable and explosive climax.
While few could criticize the vocal abilities of Lady Gaga, she has done so much better in musicals, most specifically in the remake of “A Star is Born” with Bradley Cooper.
Turning a dark and dramatic film into a musical is not unprecedented because of films like 2023’s “The Color Purple.”
But while “The Color Purple” added brilliantly to the legacy of the original, “Joker: Folie a Deux” does not advance the allure of the franchise.
The sequel advances the storyline effectively, though.
However, that is about it.
Filmmakers should have just stuck to the script and did what worked so flawlessly in “Joker” instead of exploring new terrain with the musical.
Thankfully, some familiar faces from “Joker” return for the courtroom scenes.
However, that does not totally bring back the magic.
Instead of sticking to the winning formula, the “Joker” franchise did what the Houston Astros did after winning the 2022 World Series.
The Astros had a proven general manager, manager and first baseman.
Instead of sticking to the script, owner Jim Crane immediately fired former general manager James Click after the championship parade.
The fans soured on World Series manager Dusty Baker the very next year, leading to his retirement.
Furthermore, the Astros did not re-sign fan favorite Yuli Gurriel at first base following the championship season.
Instead, the owner brought in new faces.
But those new faces and new strategies has led to end of a dynastic run.
Unfortunately, “Joker” could have had a dynastic run if handled a little differently.
But instead, they tampered with a winning formula.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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