Joker Folie à Deux – Off Key

In 2019, Todd Phillips' Joker, though divisive, received heaps of praise and a box office shattering $1 billion+ take. Joker: Folie à Deux, however, received none of that acclaim or success. That is for good reason.

Joker: Folie à Deux is a meandering mess of a film — one that features impromptu musical segments. Those songs, shockingly, are not at all the issue. Instead of carrying on Arthur Fleck's story, Folie à Deux just sort of castrates the character.

Certainly, it can be argued that Fleck never intended to become the Joker. But he did. Going back on that in every conceivable way makes for a film with no identity.

It honestly feels as if Phillips did not want to make this movie. Their is a palpable disdain that can be felt throughout its trudging two hours. Which begs the question: Why, aside from the potential for a big theatrical haul, was it ever greenlit? The script, like Fleck, is empty.

Now, sit back, feed your psychoses with a Psychedelic Rabbit from New Realm Brewing, and stop harassing poor Mr. Puddles! The Thunderous Wizard (@WriterTLK), Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are gonna build a mountain!

This Week’s Segments:

• Introduction/Plot Breakdown – The world is a stage! (0:00)
• Lingering Questions – What the hell happened? (18:56)
• The "Mr. Puddles" Trivia Challenge – Chumpzilla challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (35:42)
• Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue our look at sequels to billion dollar hits that flopped with The Marvels! (45:17)

And, as always, hit us up on Threads, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

You can find this episode of Hops and Box Office Flops on all your favorite pod catchers!