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Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
By now, you have celebrated or cringed about Todd Phillips’ vision of JOKER 2 (known as JOKER: Folie a Deux). This dystopian look at Arthur Fleck was somber and heartbreaking as we saw the devolving of a man into a menace. What Todd Phillips did with JOKER was masterful. No one was ready for that portrayal. Joaquin Phoenix did not steer a mesmerizing “comic book movie;” that was a fantastic film. Period.
And now, we are getting a musical for JOKER 2, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as the esoteric and psychotic counterpart of Arthur Fleck, Harley Quinn.
Yeah, But JOKER 2 is a Musical
(Credit: Niko Tavernise via Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures)
So, was that you too when you heard Todd Phillips was making JOKER 2 a musical?! Like, what the what? JOKER went out and crushed expectations and the box office with $1.1 billion in receipts. DC Comics enthusiasts were hysterical. Then came the news that its sequel would be a musical.
To say there was weeping and gnashing of teeth would be an understatement.
Most comic book movie fans aren’t loyalists to the stage. Who can blame them? Present company included they like horrifying, other-worldly villains and mutants for heroes. JOKER showed up the depths of darkness one soul can travel.
We knew JOKER 2 would take a shovel and dig a little deeper. But now, Arthur Fleck will be tiptoeing through the tulips with his polyester suit, singing a happy tune while shooting up Gotham.
Seriously?! What in the actual hell is going on here, Todd?
The first movie was harrowing and disturbing. Can a musical feel that way? The Phantom of the Opera was supposed to lighten internal plights of rage and darkness, but people left the theater in tears hollering, “Bravo!” So much for darkness there.
The Secret is in “Folie a Deux”
(Credit: Niko Tavernise via Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures)
Many DC Comics’ loyalists heard the news about the sequel, saw the title Foile a Deux, and thought their inkling of French rang true. “Oh $%*&, “deux” means “two” in French, so that’s a weird title.”
Not so fast. And, yet, that meaning may be the reason JOKER 2 shocks the world and Lady Gaga walks away with an Oscar in 2024. (Face it. The girl is straight smoke and as Harley Quinn?! Margot, who?)
Foile a Deux (n.) — the presence of the same or similar delusional ideas in two persons closely associated with one another
Merriam-Webster, 2022
The phrase literally means “shared madness.” I knew that being half-Canadian (shout out to all my Habs out there). Todd Phillips told us all what to expect in the mercurial title. If you thought Joaquin Phoenix was hypnotizing and ominous in the first one, just wait until you see the one who shares his same outlook on life and mankind.
As we know, Joker and Dr. Quinzel have always had a toxic on-off relationship. Like Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, without the lawsuits and public bickering. Can a musical work for JOKER 2? Here are three reasons why the shared madness will have one astounding voice:
1. Brooklyn Steps — Remember the dancing down the Brooklyn steps? That’s easily one of the three most memorable scenes in the entire film. It was a disturbing scene but no one dared look away. If Joaquin was singing more in that moment, no one would have noticed. It was that effective.
2. In the Bathroom — The downward spiral of Arthur Fleck hit rock bottom in that bathroom. Arthur was dead. Long live the Joker. As he was twirling like a ballerina whacked out of its mind on heroin, was anything more disturbing? Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score was haunting, which is why she won the Oscar. If you have seen Lady Gaga in American Horror Story, you know that woman can wake the dead with an eerie song. Imagine her, there. DAYUM!
3. Her — No, not Phoenix’s creepy and borderline harrowing film. I mean her. That woman can sing anything. Lady Gaga is a force of nature from Tony Bennett standards to sinister AF pieces during Halloween. Take her down a mental exercise of delusion and dark fantasy, and we may have something even better than what Todd Phillips offered in 2019.
And if all that doesn’t convince you, Phillips is taking a little kismet into the release of JOKER 2. It will be released nationwide five years to the day in October 2024. In Todd Phillips, do we still trust?
You damn right we do! Bring it on!
Something about me? I have been a nerdy cinephile for as long as I can remember. Putting the two together is living my best life. That notwithstanding, I was born to express, not to impress, so I blog because I don't have friends. In other news, I like hashtags because they look like waffles, prefer my puns intended, and I always give 100% unless I'm donating blood. Thanks for reading.
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