I remember being more excited for this movie’s release than any other movie I can think of. At the time, I was in the beginning stages of my new reality. I was also more aware of my mood disorder, even though I still had yet to figure out what mental illnesses I had been dealt.

If you’ve never seen, The King of Comedy, you might wanna give that movie a watch. The movie Joker, is in many ways, a very similar movie. I’d even go so far as to say The King of Comedy directly influenced the movie, Joker. That the King of Comedy was responsible for Joker being the way it was as a story. In fact De Niro plays Rupert Pupkin in King of Comedy, basically the same kind of person as Joker is, in, Joker. Coincidence that De Niro plays the Jerry Lewis character in Joker? I think not, me mateys. I highly doubt it’s a coincidence.

People argue that Joker isn’t even based on the DC Comics version of The Joker. I get that. I’m not here to debate the authenticity of Joaquin Phoenix’s version of The Joker, as it relates to DC Comics. Quite frankly, Phoenix’s version of The Joker spoke to me the most. Phoenix and Ledger are equal to me, as actors who portrayed The Joker. However, Phoenix’s portrayal of The Joker is my favorite, not the best, just the version of The Joker I can relate to more than any other version of The Joker.

He’s a weirdo. He makes people uncomfortable. He’s trying to fit in best he knows how, yet society just won’t accept him. So, of course, the perfect storm strikes. And we’re off to the races folks! The catalyst in Joker would be when he kills the Wall Street bullies on the subway. From that point on, he has purpose. So strange how that plays out sometimes. Arthur Fleck had no idea his acts of violence would start a local revolution of anarchy, but that’s exactly what it did.

I’m not an anarchist, nor am I The Joker. I just love how things finally go his way, in the movie. Turns out in this fictional story, he wasn’t alone in his feelings of misery. It’s in a sense a jab at politicians and middle to upper class people, which I also love.

While I’m excited for Folie a Deux to release in late 2024, I have my reservations. I love that Lady Gaga will be playing Harley Quinn, that’s dope. However, ugh- it’s apparently going to be a musical of sorts. I don’t care for musicals outside of people doing so on a stage, like, Broadway performances. I don’t even care for much for stage plays that are indeed musicals. Just not my jam, never really has been. That’s my only concern with Folie a Deux, without any sneak peak previews of what the movie promises to deliver. Phoenix and Gaga can actually sing, have music skills. Lady Gaga in fact, to me, has the best vocals of any woman I can think of. And Phoenix has a solid voice as well. I just don’t like musicals in movies.

Even if the musical aspect upsets me, I really wanna see what Folie a Deux is about. I think Lady Gaga is the perfect person to play Harley Quinn. Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley is solid, I admit that much. It’s just, Lady Gaga is a true weirdo herself, like Joaquin Phoenix is. I think both of these individuals is on par with Johnny Depp, in the sense that they can play truly bizarre characters and knock it out of the park with their acting. Not many people can do that, even amongst some of the most popular actors in today’s industry. In my opinion, the actor has to be touched in the brain to truly pull off those strange, bizarre roles. God bless them for doing it, because I do also think it takes a lot out of these types of actors. It took so much from Heath Ledger, that he killed himself. So yes, I do think there’s an undeniable risk to gifted method actors acting out really extreme roles.

Anyway, that’s about it.