Director Todd Phillips’ 2019 film “Joker” was an unexpected massive success, with its gritty reimagining of the Batman villain as a mentally disturbed outcast played by Joaquin Phoenix. The dull, tedious sequel “Joker: Folie à Deux,” however, has been a failure with both critics (scoring just 33 percent at Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (receiving a rare D grade from polling service CinemaScore).
After his murder spree, Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck is now in a mental institution while awaiting trial, and he forms a connection with a fellow patient played by Lady Gaga, as a version of Batman villain Harley Quinn. Phillips offers half-hearted musical numbers that squander Lady Gaga’s talent, but “Folie à Deux” is as much a courtroom drama as a musical, without the conviction to commit to any particular approach.
