Samantha Allen: Well, I really had a terrible time. How did you both fare?

James Factora: It’s not that I expected this to be a good movie, but I at least hoped it would be bad in a fun way. A Joker and Harley Quinn musical starring Lady Gaga? How can that not be at least a little fun? And yet… that was it not at least a little fun. It was truly one of the most moving viewing experiences I’ve ever had. That sinking feeling started when Arthur randomly kissed that hunk, and it just went downhill from there.

Fran Tirado: Without exaggeration, this was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. And I say that as someone who admires Gaga, loves a Batman joint, and was genuinely excited about the initial announcement of this film prior to its premiere. But as Samantha said, the movie is obsessed with all the wrong elements of Joker’s story and didn’t really seem interested in Harley Quinn at all. The film – a literal musical – had virtually no entertainment value.

SA: Perhaps the scariest thing to me was that it seemed terrified be a musical? To make the “songs” seem more realistic, most of the songs started with Gaga and Phoenix in this airy, faux-naturalistic, semi-speaking register. I think I had about 15 seconds of fun when Gaga really had to let loose, but other than that joker 2 really secured one of the world’s most famous voices and forced her to actually hum. Did the “music” make up for this for either of you?

JF: Several times while watching, I thought to myself that the film felt a bit as if Todd Phillips had only recently become familiar with the concept of “musicals” and directed accordingly. As a viewer, I felt offended on so many levels. For example, my blood pressure just rises think about the whispering song. And yet, despite the fact that her real talents were once again underutilized, it felt impossible for me to see Harley in this film as anything other than Lady Gaga.