While the score for Joker by Hildur Guðnadóttir was highly awarded because of its obviousness and, frankly, the gender of the composer, the Icelandic musician's role in Joker: Folie à Deux was destined to be nearly impossible to successfully navigate. That's because the songs absorbed all the energy and creativity in the room, in part because of Lady Gaga's involvement but also because their mere existence in musical form is shocking in and of itself for enthusiasts of the franchise, even if just as a representation of Fleck's psychosis. Guðnadóttir was not responsible for the songs' arrangements and production, an entirely separate team of music supervisors and arrangers recording the 16 musical numbers at mostly different studios. With one orchestrator shared between the songs and the score, there is little common DNA outside of occasional lead-ins and conclusions to the numbers that apply the Guðnadóttir sound for connectivity. The choices of songs to cover aren't entirely surprising based on those included in the first film (Fred Astaire and Frank Sinatra were a must for inclusion), and they tend to involve the whimsy of big band jazz accented by singular piano flourishes when the fantasy of the two villains is conjoined. In the latter portions of the narrative, you receive far more stark adaptations with the lead performances less supported by grand instrumental whimsy. There's nothing openly comedic or genuinely romantic about these songs (imagine what Marc Shaiman could have conjured for this occasion!), and critics and audiences were quick to notice that Lady Gaga's full vocal capabilities were definitely not utilized for the occasion. Her toned-back demeanor is perhaps a necessity because of Phoenix's rather lackluster singing; the actor hits some notes impressively but generally underwhelms throughout. Even in the one original song provided as awards bait by Lady Gaga, "Folie à Deux," the singer's potential is wasted. That song is featured in the rooftop tango scene and the end credits of the movie and represents an intriguing adoption of waltz movements that bring the Joker character closer to Danny Elfman's musical identification. It's likely the most appealing of all the songs despite having little romantic sensibility to it, but don't expect its melody or waltz stylings to influence Guðnadóttir's dreary and lifeless score in any meaningful way.

The blend of the songs and score in Joker: Folie à Deux represents a massively wasted opportunity. It would seem that the strategy guiding their pairing dictated that the songs address the fantasy element while the score provided the connection to stark, bleak real world. (That doesn't entirely make sense given how prevalent the musical numbers are in the latter half of the story, however.) The task of merging the melodies and arrangements of the songs into the score would have been tough for a masterful, veteran composer, and Guðnadóttir didn't even really try. She was provided with the arrangements to the songs so she could coordinate them with the score, but she had written so much of her portion conceptually before filming that such connectivity was seemingly impossible. Not surprisingly, her score is akin to that of Joker: gloomy, abrasive, rough, and lacking any emotional variability. With the same ominous, dirty low string work and frightfully unpleasant atmospheric textures, the composer reinforces critics' labels as a one-trick pony. Any composer should be commended for bringing the same instrumentation, tone, and themes into a sequel, but this music was so wretchedly underdeveloped in the first film that its wholesale extension here is equally perturbing. Thematically, the basis of score is reestablished in "It's Showtime" and extended to "That Dumb Laugh," anchored by the primary idea of mindless, minor third alternations. That motif shifts to timpani more prominently, sometimes under harsh brass tones, and it stews throughout "Knock Knock" and "Old Neighborhood," with a little more color in the latter. An expanded theme from "It's Showtime" is provided depth in "The Saints" and "The Other Half," and some moderate exploration in "There is No Joker" finally takes hold on bassoons as the main character disintegrates. At the end, "It's All Theater" provides the boldest melodicism, but it's not connected to the Lady Gaga original song as needed. The only suspense and action material in the score is truly awful, blurting brass over chugging dissonance in "Uh Oh, I'm in Trouble" a horrid culmination of percussive ideas previewed in "Buy Me a Drink First?" Overall, the score is a mind-numbingly boring and irritating reminder of the prior work's failure. The score and (only some of the) songs were released on separate, rather short albums; these need combined into one overarching product, including Lady Gaga's full rendition of the new song from her own album. Forcing listeners to purchase three albums to assemble a soundtrack is unacceptable. Then again, so too is the majority of the music.  *   @Amazon.com: CD or Download