’Joker: Folie à Deux’ registers unwanted record

“Joker: Folie à Deux,” co-starring Hollywood actors Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga has registered an unwanted record on Rotten Tomatoes.

The sequel to the 2019 film, scored just 39 percent on the website as the majority of critics slammed the story, songs and the much talked-about ending, according to Screen Rant.

Initial responses to the premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September were mixed, with some calling it “ingenious” or “beguiling” and others finding it “dull” and “laborious”.

The film, a musical, had a 61 percent Rotten Tomatoes initially, the same as DC Comics’ Black Adam, however, it has since dropped down to below 40 percent.

Fans were in agreement that Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker takes the stand in a sequel that dances around while the story remains still, although Lady Gaga’s wildcard energy gives Folie á Deux some verve.

American director Todd Phillips’ 2019 iteration of ‘Joker’ received high praise with 11 Oscar nominations along with two wins, including a best actor award for Phoenix.

Phillips returned to direct ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’, which is distributed by Warner Bros Pictures, and takes place two years after the events of the earlier film.

The Hollywood star reprises his role as mentally ill criminal Arthur Fleck, AKA the Joker, and singer Lady Gaga plays Harleen ‘Lee’ Quinzel, AKA Harley Quinn, who is a patient at Arkham State Hospital.

While Fleck is institutionalised at Arkham, awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker, he and Quinzel fall in love and illustrate their feelings through music.

‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ had its international theatrical release on October 2 and its US release on October 4.

Gaga later released a companion album titled, ‘Harlequin,’ which has songs, including “Good Morning,” “Get Happy (2024),” “Oh, When the Saints,” “World on a String,” “That’s Entertainment,” “Smile,” “The Joker” and “Folie à Deux,” among others.