Gladys Benitez

I was so excited to see Joker: Folie à Deux. Bought my movie tickets well ahead of time to make sure I got good seats, and scheduled my whole weekend around this because I honestly loved the first Joker movie. I’m so disappointed I never even write reviews, but I want the industry to know that it left such a bad taste and completely fell flat due to it being a musical. Nearly every emotion and plot point is sung, which quickly becomes repetitive and takes away from the story’s impact. What could have been powerful moments of silence or dialogue are overshadowed by excessive songs that feel extremely out of place. With Lady Gaga in the cast, I was excited to see her take on a darker acting role without relying on her singing. Instead, the film plays like a series of music videos, leaning heavily into her musical performances rather than her acting potential. And honestly it made Joker seem more like a background character. It undermines what could have been great chemistry with Joaquin Phoenix, making the movie feel super disappointing. Additionally, the mix of musical elements with dark, disturbing content, including a rape scene, feels inappropriate and should come with a warning for victims of sexual abuse. I feel bad for Joaquin Phoenix, who had so much more to give in this role. I was excited to see him shine in reality not in the musicals in his mind. The movie essentially strips his character of depth and any sense of closure. He never gets to truly seek revenge, leaving the audience with a sense of intense dissatisfaction. Look I can put up with a couple songs, but this was every time I got to a potentially masterful scene, boom there is a song. Overall, the musical element was a poor choice, overshadowing the film’s darker themes and wasting the potential acting talent of Gaga and the clear acting talent Phoenix was still able to manage. An idea that ended up being more of a misfire than a masterpiece.