When Todd Phillips’s “Joker” was released in 2019, I could not have gotten in line any quicker to see it the moment it came to theaters. I have spent my entire life adoring DC superheroes and their nemeses: reading comic books, buying action figures and rewatching their animated adventures so often that their flowing capes and silhouettes have burned themselves into the back of my retinas. I remember so vividly it being the first rated R film I had ever seen in the theaters, having snuck in with my friends and tickets for the new “Lion King” remake. Walking out of the theater, my only thought was one of anticipation. I could not wait for the sequel.
After five long years of waiting, an ad popped up while I was scrolling through my TikTok feed. I watched in awe as Lady Gaga stood alongside a laughing Joaquin Phoenix. I immediately scoured the internet for more information, realizing not only that it was real, but that a theater in Norwalk was doing an exclusive early viewing four days before its official release. I don’t think I’ve ever clicked a “Buy Now” button faster in my entire life.
As I sat in the theater, watching what turned out to be Phoenix’s reprise of his character Arthur Fleck with Lady Gaga as his romantic interest Lee Quinzel, I was floored. In no world would I have ever imagined this dark, dramatic DC comic spinoff about an unhinged psychiatric patient and the societal upheaval that occurs in the wake of a murder on live TV would be a musical. You could have waved a million dollars in my face and asked me if Lady Gaga was going to sing The Carpenters’ “(They Long To Be) Close To You” in the Joker sequel and I would’ve walked away penniless. Despite all of this though, I loved it. I walked out of the theater that night gushing about how well-executed it was and how beautifully and succinctly the director was able to work such a hard-hitting drama into such elegant and flowy musical numbers. It seems like I may have been the only one though.
“I hated it” senior Vincent DiNapoli, a close friend who I attended the premiere with, told me as we discussed the film after attending the early release together, “What a waste of money and a night!” For an hour after we stepped out of the premiere, I argued with him about the beauty and meaning of the film, already conjuring theories and ways in which I could fit it into a larger web of comic book lore. He laughed about how stupid the singing was, “I bought a ticket to watch a supervillain movie,” DiNapoli explained to me, “I don’t care about Arthur Fleck, I want to watch ‘Joker’.” While I made fun of him for not seeing the artistic value of it, explaining that it was so much more than a big explosive superhero movie, I waited patiently for the reviews to agree with me on release day. They did not. As it stands, “Joker: Folie à Deux” is currently sitting at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes among the likes of “MacGruber” and “Robocop 2.”
Two weeks later, I am still singing its praises to anyone who will listen. Am I the only one who liked it? Maybe. Is the allure of being one of the first to see it weighing heavy on my review? More than likely. Did it need to be a musical? Probably not (though part of me so badly wants to say yes). Even if I am alone on this though, I think Phoenix and Gaga’s “Joker: Folie à Deux” was a fitting sequel that scratched every itch in my comic-loving inner child’s brain. Despite being a box office flop and likely losing more money than producers would like to admit, I think it still deserves a chance.
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