Look, I’ll be straight with you: I came into this trailer expecting to dunk on it at least a little bit.
Because this is the sequel to Joker we’re talking about – as in, the sequel to gurgling 2018 angst machine Joker, directed by Todd Philips, “all I have are bad thoughts”, edgelord anarchy that also won an Oscar because, despite all the hand-waving towards freshness, it’s a marginally-worse remake of King of Comedy. I didn’t hate Joker when I first saw it, but God, I came to despise what it has come to represent in pop culture since then. Unfair? Maybe. But that’s the mindset I was approaching the first trailer for Folie à Deux (named, I can only assume, after my favourite Fall Out Boy album) with, and I feel like you need to know that before we go any further.
Because, of all things, Todd Philips decided to follow up his 2019 mega-hit with a…jukebox musical? It’s literally the very last thing I could have imagined him choosing to do with this story, so bizarre it sort of piqued my interest: if there’s a genre that seems diametrically opposed to much of the fanbase the first film garnered, it’s the musical. I mean, I don’t think Todd Philips will make a good musical, but as a fan of the genre, I’m kind of interested in how it’s going to turn out. So let’s get into this trailer already, shall we?
So does this trailer sell the idea of this jukebox musical Joker sequel? Well, as much as it can, I think the answer is yes: in fact, I think it serves as a really good introduction to how this genre is going to work within the world set up by the first Joker movie. The musical as a genre is inherently one that is detached from reality, though how much directors lean into that as a central throughline for the story varies – with so much of Joker revolving around the unreality that Arthur Fleck lives in, it makes perfect sense that it would stretch to the elaborate, ridiculous, and enormous production of a musical.
And that production looks really cool – I love the way it’s shot through with colour against the dreary backdrop of this iteration of Gotham City, from the Joker’s iconic make-up to the lavish backdrops for the musical numbers. I was concerned that this sequel would try to cram the abstract, enormous world of the musical fit into this urban setting, but the split between the two gives me some confidence that it could really work.
And I’ve thought since day one that Lady Gaga is an excellent choice for Harley Quinn, especially in this particular version of the character – she’s got an erratic, reverent energy towards Arthur here that feels true to the character without just being another redux of her after Margot Robbie’s excellent turn. Phoenix, of course, looks great, and it’ll be interesting to see him take on this genre after how great he was in musical biopic Walk the Line.
To be fair, I loved the first trailer for Joker too, and found myself falling distinctly out of love with the film when I actually saw it, so I’m not going to take too much from one good teaser. But I have to admit, if this is anything to go by, Folie à Deux looks pretty damn good, and I’m – tentatively – looking forward to it.
What did you think of this trailer? And of this approach to a Joker sequel in general? Let me know in the comments below!
(header image via Rolling Stone)
No But Listen 