In general, I like to be positive when it comes to film and filmmaking but something has been bugging me for a long time and with a specific new release I would just like to vent.
I have not seen “Joker: Folie à Deux” (2024) at some point I will but I won't be seeing it theatrically.
I still have a beef about the first film believe it or not!
"Joker" (2019) in my humble opinion "is fine"
The film is a competent pastiche of a Scorsese-type picture with a dark graphic novel twist... No more.
It did not "blow me away" or make me think "Oooh this is so edgy and nihilistic"
It made me think "I've seen this before but done better".
I don't want to seem like a film snob but I've seen a lot of movies and I've seen loads of really good, brutal 70's films that did "blow me away"
What makes the 2019 Joker film worth a watch is Joaquin Phoenix, whose performance is remarkable. What you need to keep in mind is that a remarkable performance from Phoenix is not a rare thing in his filmography.
Todd Phillips the Director is (in my opinion) a hack!
He established himself by writing and directing “gross-out” comedies in the early 2000s which were successful at the box office riding the wave started by the American Pie film and Phillips debut film “Road Trip” (2000) even featured Seann William Scott aka Stifler American Pie.
Todd Philips's 5th film "The Hangover" which he directed but did not write was nothing short of a phenomenon being made for $35m and grossing over $450m worldwide.
His next film "Due Date" was also successful, it was not great but benefited from featuring Zach Galifianakis hot off the back of The Hangover and Robert Downey Jr. who was Iron Man at the time and a humongous movie star.
Philips went on to write and direct both Hangover sequels both paled in comparison to the first film and the Hangover 3 is nothing short of a travesty.
In 2016 he wrote, directed and produced the film "War Dogs" with
Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Ana de Armas & Bradley Cooper and probably broke even at the box office but this is not a good film.
Then in 2019, he made "Joker" to much fanfare and critical acclaim.
Phillips co-wrote this film with the screenwriter Scott Silver who had written the film
“The Fighter” (2010) is a gritty sports biography that stars Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale & Amy Adams. The fighter is good. Silver also wrote the film "8mile".
“Joker” (2019) is blatantly a riff on Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" (1976) and "The King of Comedy" (1982) I mean it's blatant to the point of being derivative / a total rip off... I don’t know if this was an attempt to be “post-modern” in a Tarantino kinda way… But it comes off as unimaginative plagiarism not paying homage to great cinema.
It took me three attempts to watch “Joker” because it pissed me off!
“Joker” was made for about $60m+ advertising and went on to gross $1 Billion worldwide for some reason.
The powers at be at Warner Bros. Gave Phillips carte blanche to make a sequel and he spent $190 million + advertising so probably something like $300 million on his new film.
I am just a shlubby guy in Scotland writing a blog but even I know...
1. Don't put French words in your film title it freaks Americans out.
2. Don't misrepresent your film in promotional material it will alienate the audience who see it and will drive down the metrics of audience response online such as IMDd rating, cinema score and the popcornmeter on rotten tomatoes.
Joker: Folie à Deux has a "D" cinema score and for perspective "Madame Web" (2024) achieved a "C+"
3. Don't make the sequel to your thriller a jukebox musical.
4. If your film is a hit and grosses $1B the modern movie-going public doesn't want a true sequel they want MORE of the same not “Joker 2” but more “Joker” (2019)
Remember no matter what it ends up taking internationally, In Hollywood what matters is "Domestic box office" tickets sold in North America and Canada because the studios and investors get the best return from those sales. So This "Joker: Folie à Deux" film is a bomb!
What annoys me is people like Todd Phillips are given $300m to make a film and he chooses to make what he did and present it to the public the way he did.
If what he wanted to make was “Risky” and “Offbeat” film do not make a $300m risk!
Make a $100m film inc advertising “risk”
There is an opinion out there that this sequel is actually a better film than the first and is more original (not hard)
It feels like Phillips is giving a middle finger to the film industry, film fans and the cinema business as a whole just to make a vanity project that is apparently very self indulgent.
The film exhibition industry needs “Joker” (2019) it needs “Barbie”, “Oppenheimer” & Deadpool & Wolverine to survive not films that are jukebox musical sequels to successful thrillers.
The real travesty is that genuinely talented visionary filmmakers with something valid to say struggle to get funding for their work and when Warner Bros. "take a bath" to the tune of $200m it will affect WB's willingness to take risks in the future.
The likes of the amazing Lynne Ramsay who has not made a feature film since 2017!
She could make six films for the price of one “Joker: Folie à Deux”
(Lynne Ramsay does have a film coming out next year but still that's a long time)
If you ever wonder why mainstream cinema is dominated by "known entities" such as sequels and remakes... It's due to irresponsible hacks like Phillips!!
Anyway... My advice is to watch "Taxi Driver" (1976) and "The King of Comedy" (1982)
as a double bill instead!
Then watch a remarkable Joaquin Phoenix performance such as "The Master" (2012) or "Inherent vice" (2014) both Directed by the truly great film director Paul Thomas Anderson or "You Were Never Really Here" (2017) Directed by Lynne Ramsay a much better use of your time.
Just my opinion! I feel better now!!
