Review Roundup: JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX- What Do Critics Think of the Jukebox Musical?

Following its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, the reviews for Joker: Folie à Deux have begun to come in!

Many critics note the use of musical sequences in the film, which are reminiscent of classic MGM musicals. "Get Happy,” “For Once in My Life” and “That’s Life" are among the songs confirmed to be featured in the movie. Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga sang live on set, a departure from the usual practice of lip-syncing to pre-recorded tracks. The decision came from the goal of authenticity, allowing the performers to make acting and musical choices in the moment

Phoenix returns as Joker/Arthur Fleck alongside Lady Gaga's Harley Quinn. The cast of the film also features Emmy nominee Zazie Beetz, and Oscar nominees Catherine Keener and Brendan Gleeson.  Oscar-nominated director Todd Phillips, who also produced the 2019 A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga, directs the screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Silver. 

In the Batman canon, Harley Quinn (Gaga) begins her journey as Dr. Harleen Quinzel, an Arkham Asylum therapist who falls in love with Joker and joins him as his oft-abused love interest and villainous sidekick. Todd Phillips' original 2019 film left the film's central character, Arthur Fleck/Joker in the Arkham State Hospital.

Ahead of the theatrical release of the sequel on October 4, find out what critics think of the sequel and if it is, indeed, a musical, despite Lady Gaga's recent comments to the contrary.

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Pete Hammond, Deadline: "With song, dance, comedy, darkness, animation, drama, violence and more, this is a musical — if it even is a musical — like no other."

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: "On a technical level, it’s a big, muscular production. Cinematographer Lawrence Sher again delivers the grimy ‘70s-inspired textures of the economically depressed city along with the hard institutional look of Arkham, but gets to sweep away the gloom in the musical sequences with more of the gaudy kitsch..."

Siddhant Adlakha, IGN: "The worst thing about Joker: Folie à Deux is its unfulfilled potential. It begins with the promise of a novel approach to the Joker and Harley Quinn, placing them in a world where the opposite of cruelty is musical romance. Unfortunately, the DC sequel gets bogged down by a lengthy courtroom saga, which not only keeps the dazzling Lady Gaga away from the spotlight, but centers the movie entirely around its own predecessor, without doing or saying anything new."

Owen Gleiberman, Variety: ...the premise of “Joker: Folie à Deux” — that Arthur the killer clown and his paramour, Lee (who starts to think she’s Harley Quinn), will express who they are by becoming jukebox songbirds…sorry, but that’s not a Broadway concept. It’s an audacious concept. It’s one that demands an audacious execution. And for the most part, that doesn’t happen in “Folie à Deux.”

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian: "It’s a musical, of sorts, with Phoenix and others warbling show tune standards, often in fantasy set pieces, a little in the way of Dennis Potter’s Pennies from Heaven. This gives it structure and flavour that the first film didn’t have."

Nicholas Barber, BBC: ...instead of moving the story along, as songs in musicals should, they slow it down. You're left with the feeling that Phillips simply didn't have enough of a plot to fill another two hours without them."

William Bibbiani, TheWrap: "'Folie à Deux' is the most interesting film about Arthur Fleck. It’s genuinely a little daring, genuinely a little challenging, and genuinely a little genuine. And that’s no joke."

David Ehrlich, IndieWire: "...how does Phillips reconcile Joker with Arthur Fleck? How does he wrestle his misunderstood character study away from the idea that it wasn’t first and foremost a work of mass entertainment? With an excruciatingly — perhaps even deliberately — boring sequel that does everything in its power not to amuse you."

Geoffrey Macnab, Independent: "Even during the film’s most apocalyptic and violent moments, we’re always aware that, underneath Joker’s gaudy warpaint, lurks little, feeble Arthur. Against the odds, this ingenious and deeply unsettling film even turns into a bit of a weepie by the final reel."

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Joker: Folie à Deux will be released in theaters on October 4. Watch the trailer below.

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