THERE were moments in this sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 brilliant Joker when I was so frustratingly bored I wanted to shout “ARE YOU JOKING?”
Mostly when Joaquin Phoenix, who is not a natural singer, broke into yet another song.
A song that was performed in full. Sung at an agonisingly slow pace. With only a close up of his face to look at.
It was not the only annoyance in this woefully dull and dreary film, directed again by Phillips.
There is a spark of promise at the opening, with an animated cartoon of the Joker — whose more human name is Arthur Fleck — reminding us all he’s a mass murderer.
From there, we’re hurtled into a bleak prison where a painfully thin Fleck (Phoenix) has clearly lost his sense of humour.
He’s ridiculed by fellow prisoners, smokes incessantly and seems on strangely good terms with the correctional officer Jackie (Brendan Gleeson).
He decides to pull a few strings to get Fleck into a music class, where hospitalised mental patients sing.
There, he meets Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (Lady Gaga) who declares herself a huge fan.
Soon — after very little conversation — the pair have fallen crazily in love and are performing a musical number together.
Meanwhile, Fleck’s lawyer (Catherine Keener) is trying to make sure he doesn’t get the death penalty.
Her case is that he has a personality disorder, committing the crimes as The Joker and not as Fleck.
She keeps, boringly, hammering home this point and sets up a strange TV interview with Steve Coogan doing a bad American accent.
Then it’s back and forth to court where long scenes are littered with Fleck and Lee crooning away with songs including For Once In My Life and Gonna Build A Mountain.
Visually, these are often stripped back to their faces and with no elaborate dance sequences or shots in Gotham City to distract.
Gaga’s anticipated follow-up to her impressive turns in A Star Is Born and House Of Gucci is such a let-down.
But it’s no fault of her own. Her character is underwritten and has none of the gum-chewing mania of Quinn in other depictions.
Phoenix is a mighty fine actor, but this Joker feels more like an ego project for him and Phillips, rather than a film for fans.
There’s nothing funny about that.
(15), 139 mins
★
MARRIED at First Sight bride Charlie Curtis has revealed she and Eve Reid are not on speaking terms.
The E4 star has opened up on what really happened when cameras stopped rolling after she and Eve decided to quit the show.
It came after an emotional rollercoaster packed full of rows and trust issues.
And after throwing a dig at Eve earlier this week, Charlie has admitted to The Sun the former couple no longer speak.
She explained: “The last time I saw or spoke to Eve was on that sofa at the last commitment ceremony.
“Me and Eve do not have a relationship at all.
When asked if Eve was the real ‘bully’, Charlie replied: “I’m not here to name call but let’s just say I sleep very well at night knowing that deep down me and Eve are the only ones who know what really went down and the actual truth and we both know I’m not a bully.”
Married at First Sight fans had watched the former couple clash after Charlie discovered Eve had branded her a bully to co-star Polly Sellman.
There were more tears when Eve was caught listening in to Charlie’s “safe space, breaking her trust in the process”.
Eve insisted Charlie was lying when she accused her of eavesdropping in the ceremony, but expert Mel Schilling was on hand to announce to the room that it was Eve who was telling fibs.
The couple were then tasked with writing down whether they wanted to stay and give the relationship a go or leave and walk away from each other for good.
It resulted in them leaving the programme and going their separate ways.
Loved-up Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling of series six fame had the first Mafs baby.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the programme and quickly found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s Doncaster home.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins also managed to make their marriage work away from the cameras and had their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel very lucky and thankful that it has worked out – and excited for everything to come.”
Michelle and Owen were both sick of dating apps when they applied in 2019.
Owen recalled: “I had been out for some drinks with a friend after work.
“While he was out for a cigarette I was scrolling on Instagram waiting for him to come back in.
“The MAFS advert was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later when I was back at home I sent in the application, and the rest is history.”
Another couple to make Mafs UK history is Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a slight rocky start, where they clashed over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first same sex pairing are still going strong.
They even have a successful podcast together called Life With a Pod.
Jenna shed light on being involved in the show earlier this year when she told us: “We’re not legally married, and I never felt like we were. I definitely feel the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of the experts… if you can survive that process it sets a firm foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”
TOWIE stars Joe Blackman and Junaid Ahmed made their first public appearance tonight after their shock romance was revealed.
Joe left ex-boyfriend and fellow Towie star Harry Derbidge heartbroken when he started a relationship with their friend Junaid.
On Friday evening the new couple put on a loved-up display as they attended the Tulleys Shocktober Fest event together.
Joe and Junaid beamed while posing happily for snaps, with each of them dressed down for the occasion.
During last week’s episode Junaid told Harry he and Joe were sleeping together, leaving him in tears.
And in a first look at Sunday night’s show Harry’s furious cousin Amy Childs was seen confronting Junaid and Joe.
She told Junaid: “I really hope you two get married, but I know for a fact in two weeks time you’ll ring me and say ‘Amy look what he’s done to Harry and now look what he’s done to you,’ so good luck to you.”
Amy was joined by her fiancé Billy Delbosq, who also backed Harry, as he called Junaid and Joe’s romance “fake.”
He said: “Personally I think he’s going to drop you out, and whatever this is that’s going on it’s as fake as a handbag down Dagenham market.”
As they turned to leave, Amy turned back and said: “Yeah you’re snakes, hun.”
Last month, Harry was dumped by his fiancée in emotional scenes.
They had been dating for a year but Joe called time on their relationship just after their anniversary.
The Sun recently revealed the love triangle will come to a dramatic head in the series finale – with bosses having to take emergency measures due to the explosive scenes.
A show insider said: “Let’s just say things really kick off after the Harry, Joe and Junaid love triangle.
“I don’t think anyone was expecting it to end the way it ends.
“It was pretty shocking and the fallout was so bad that the show had to do something that has never ever happened before.”
SO how much did you blow on your summer holiday? Wait, let me guess.
Was it so significantly more than you budgeted for that you daren’t open your credit card bill without sitting down with a large measure of Scotch?
Thought so. That’s the thing about holidays. They cost a bomb.
Unless, of course, you happen to be Angela Rayner, the “by ’eck I’m so bloody normal, me” Deputy Prime Minister.
Down-to-earth Ange doesn’t worry so much about what her ’bobs will cost because, well, someone else is usually chipping in.
You might remember that excruciating video of her dancing behind the DJ booth at the swanky Hi Ibiza club that emerged recently.
It was accompanied by some equally toe-curling outpourings from Never-Kissed-A-Tory types, hyperventilating on Twitter/X about how brilliant it was that we have a senior member of the Government who loves to party.
“Go Ange, throw them shapes babe,” they trilled, patting themselves on the back that they’d voted in someone so with it.
’Avin’ it Ange hit back at any critics of her cheesy moves, declaring: “Yes, I’m working class. I like a dance.” As if dancing was an exclusively working-class activity.
Anyway, her “out out” night was paid for by someone else — her friend the DJ’s agent, to be precise — to the techno tune of £836.
We know this because she has just been forced to tell us by way of the MPs’ register of interests.
This is the same register where she declared another freebie holiday treat over New Year last year, this time a five-night stay at a plush £2million flat in New York, which she reckoned was only worth £1,250.
That apartment, complete with Jacuzzi and “breathtaking” views of the Empire State Building, was owned by . . . you guessed it, Labour’s favourite sugar daddy, Lord Waheed Alli (currently under investigation over his interests by the House of Lords sleaze watchdog).
Feisty Ange, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, who earns at least £91,346 a year plus a ministerial bump of £31,600, also used the apartment to entertain her fancy man at the time, then-Labour MP Sam Tarry.
Oh, and before you think it’s a bit off that an elected representative is accepting such lavish gifts from people who might want a favour in return, she insisted that Lord Alli — who has also donated £21,200 to her for “support” in her role as Labour’s deputy leader and “undertaking parliamentary duties” — hadn’t asked for anything.
Oh no, it was just a pal helping out a pal.
But it’s not just her “mates” that Spongerla loves blagging things from (and she’s also another one who likes her freebie clothes).
She doesn’t mind dipping into our pockets, too.
Remember when she bought herself a load of fancy Apple gear, including an iPad and some £249 AirPods and sent us, the taxpayer, the bill?
She even tried to put another pair of £139 AirPods on expenses until The Sun exposed it and she repaid the cash.
It was around this time she was on her soapbox blasting the Tories — she calls them “scum”, our Ange — for their “catalogue of waste”, insisting Labour would bring in “high standards for all public spending”.
Well, now we know about her high standards when it comes to filling her boots.
With the Ibiza freebie now under the microscope, Spongerla’s poncing is finally — and deservedly — centre stage.
In many ways, her gift gluttony is worse than Free Gear Keir’s because of who she has cast herself as in public life.
She would have us believe she is one of us, our representative on Planet Politician — a selfless, working-class woman of the people.
It is this image that she would like her £68,000-a-year taxpayer-funded vanity photographer to capture.
Now there are demands for her to pay back the £836 along with Sir Keir’s nonsensical list of freebies he’s paying back.
Frankly, I don’t care if she does or she doesn’t. The damage is done.
Spongerla has shown us that she, too, can be just as grasping a “public servant” as the rest of them.
Meanwhile, the list of Labour faces blagging football tickets continues.
This week it was the turn of the enigmatic Sue Gray — for it is she — to score another own goal for Labour after it emerged she took free tickets to Tottenham Hotspur games.
No wonder we plebs struggle to secure seats for the Prem — the stands are full of freeloading “socialists”.
I SAW a fantastic film this week – The Apprentice.
Charting the rise of ol’ big head himself, Donald J Trump, it is a superbly executed study of megalomania.
Trump will privately hate it, not least because it shows him raping his own wife, Ivana, moments after humiliating her by coldly informing her he is no longer attracted to her.
(Ivana, who died in 2022, did once suggest he raped her, but he has denied it and never been charged with it or any rape.)
With the film released on October 18 in the UK – just weeks before the US election – Trump’s haters will hope it damages his bid to become president again. I doubt that.
The Don will brush it off in his trademark style: “A very bad film, maybe the worst film ever made, the guy who plays me is a loser”etc.
But while it may not hurt him, it should do wonders for the career of the brilliant actor who plays him, Sebastian Stan, pictured with Maria Bakalova as Ivana, whose portrayal of Trump’s ascendancy from hapless suburban landlord to maniacal Manhattan magnate is pitch perfect.
He deserves an Oscar nod at least.
And if that happens, I’ll bet a crisp ten dollar bill Trump will think it is actually for him.
I SEE crafty Oasis fans are hoping to sneak their drugs into the band’s Manchester Heaton Park summer shows by burying them in advance.
This probably sounded like a great ruse during a night chained to the mirror and the razor blade, but the tactic may not prove that clever on the day.
All security guards need to do is look out for anyone wandering around staring at Google Maps with a puzzled look on their face . . . while holding a shovel.
I’M glad Spurs are kicking off at their fans for the homophobic chants at the Man United match last weekend.
It wasn’t just on the terraces that these oiks decided to indulge in one of the worst of the low-IQ behaviours – it was in the tram on the way to the ground, too.
I was travelling to the game with my teenage son and we’re used to lairy bantz on the short trip from Piccadilly to Old Trafford – we’ve even been known to join in (don’t tell his mum).
But these chants were another level – targeting mainly Arsenal players and managers from over the decades with taunts about being gay and/or a paedophile.
They were puerile, desperately unfunny and delivered with an excruciating kind of malice.
It’s at moments like these when you realise that, of course, gay football players stay in the closet.
The game is still too pathetically toxic to handle them.
HELPED an old boy with directions to a Japanese restaurant after Sunday’s Man Utd game.
He was born and bred in Manchester, but had moved to Oz and hadn’t been back for 50 years.
We joked there can’t have been many Japanese restaurants when he was last here.
But one thing has stayed the same – United were crap then as well.
The 74/75 season saw them grinding away in the Second Division, having fallen out of the top league for the first time in four decades.
BORIS JOHNSON finally releases his memoir about, er, how brilliant Boris Johnson is, next week.
Place your order now if you want to hear how he thinks he handled being Mayor of London and running the country during Covid.
Boris is a funny bloke who, having swallowed both an English and a Latin dictionary, has a wonderful way with words.
So his epic 784-page beast of a book is narrated in his customary Billy Bunter banter.
But it won’t be for everyone, especially if, like me, you have no desire to revisit the misery of lockdown.
Most significantly, it is missing some of the juicier ingredients of BoJo’s life – perhaps because they don’t paint him in such a heroic light.
But this is the book I’d like to read – a warts ’n’ all account of how this legendary swordsman and father-of-eight conducts himself when the eyes of the world are not upon him (Boris Johnson Unsheathed?).
I can’t help but feel the newspaper that has been running extracts from his new tome would rather have had that, too.
On day four of its serialisation, Boris’s image once again adorned the front page.
And just above that was a headline which screamed: Here’s Why I Left My Wife For My Mistress.
Alas, despite the clear symmetry with their thrice-married author, it was for an unconnected story.
FAIR play to Baby Reindeer star Richard Gadd tootling about in a battered old Skoda.
He lives in North London, where I also live and drive around in my battered old Nissan.
The reason my car is covered in dents and scrapes is probably the same reason Richard’s is – thanks to other careless drivers.
Every time I see a brand new car parked on my street, I wonder how long it will be before it gets damaged.
In crowded cities, owning a fancy new car is a mug’s game.
ERIK Menendez’s wife has been seen for the first time in years as new evidence could see him and his brother released from jail more than three decades after they murdered their parents.
Tammi Saccoman has been married to the convicted killer since June 1999, after she wrote to him in prison and ignored fierce criticism over their relationship.
Erik and Lyle killed their parents, Kitty and Jose Menendez, at point-blank range with shotguns in their Los Angeles home on August 20, 1989.
They alleged they were abused by their father and that their mother turned a blind eye, but were convicted of murder and sentenced to life behind bars.
In a bombshell twist, a note that Erik sent to his cousin Andy Cano – eight months before Jose and Kitty were killed – could now set him and his brother free.
He wrote in the letter that he lived in constant fear of his father coming into his bedroom at night.
“It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now,” he claimed.
Despite being locked up, both brothers married, and Tammi has stood by her man for many years, even though they are not allowed conjugal visits.
The U.S. Sun obtained exclusive images of Erik’s wife in Henderson, Nevada, more than 300 miles from RJ Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California, where Lyle and Erik are serving time.
It is not known how often Tammi, 62, visits her husband at the jail, but she continues to support him as the brothers fight to be released.
The U.S. Sun understands Tammi runs a dog grooming business nearby and generally keeps a low profile.
In the new photographs, she can be seen with long blonde hair tied in a side ponytail with a pink scrunchie leaving the back exit of the shop.
Tammi wore a work uniform, with a maroon vest featuring a dog paw print and a pair of dark cargo pants with white sneakers.
She opted for a pair of dark shades and was seen carrying her cell phone and a handbag as she headed to her new red Tesla.
She recently shared a statement from Erik about the new Netflix series, Monsters, in which he hit out at the show’s producer and the way the brothers were portrayed.
He wrote, “It is with a heavy heart that I say, I believe Ryan Murphy cannot be this naive and inaccurate about the facts of our lives so as to do this without bad intent.”
Tammi has also launched a Discord channel called ‘The Menendez Hideaway’ in which Erik can communicate with his supporters with audio messages and live calls from prison.
A message written by the admin reads, “This forum was created in response to the negativity and painful toxicity often found in public forums and social media regarding Erik and Lyle.
“Once you subscribe you’ll gain access to exclusive chatrooms, audio messages from Erik, interact with Erik when he calls in, and get all the latest official news about Erik and Lyle.
“This Discord serves as a reliable source for facts about the case, providing exclusive insights about Erik that can’t be found elsewhere.
“The primary goal is to support Erik and Lyle and to continue advocating for their freedom.
“Proceeds from this Discord will contribute to Erik’s ongoing legal battle for freedom and help provide support while he remains incarcerated.”
The Netflix show implied that Erik was struggling with his sexuality after his dad’s alleged abuse and an alleged relationship with another boy before his parent’s deaths.
Scenes also show his character, played by Cooper Koch, flirting with another inmate and showering at the same time as him.
But in a 1996 interview with Barbara Walters, Erik insisted he isn’t gay.
He said, “No, the prosecutor brought that up because I was sexually molested, and he felt that if I was sodomized by my father, I must have enjoyed it, and therefore, I must be gay.”
Erik married Tammi Ruth Saccoman on June 12, 1999, in the waiting room at Folsom State Prison, with a twinkie as their wedding cake.
Tammi faced a lot of criticism but has always defended the killer, even writing a book in 2005, They Said We’d Never Make It.
A letter Erik Menendez reportedly wrote to his cousin about his dad's alleged abuse has sparked a review of the case that could set him and his brother free from jail. The letter reads in full:
“I’ve been trying to avoid dad. It’s still happening, Andy, but it’s worse for me now. I can’t explain it. He so overweight that I can’t stand to see him.
I never know when it’s going to happen and it’s driving me crazy. Every night I stay up thinking he might come in.
I need to put it out of my mind. I know what you said before but I’m afraid. You just don’t know dad like I do. He’s crazy!
He’s warned me a hundred times about telling anyone, especially Lyle.”
In an interview with NBC to promote the book, she admitted she has questioned herself over the years but called Erik her “best friend.”
She said, “Everybody questions me. You know, is she crazy? Is she nuts? You know I get all that and so it has been a very emotional experience.
“The only one that supports me is my mother, and his family is supportive. But other than that, it is very difficult…”
Talking about how she copes with dating a convicted killer, she added, “It troubles me, but I do know the person that Erik is, and I know his heart, I know his soul, and I do know what happened that night.
“And I do understand. I believe that within everybody put in certain circumstances, you will, you know, be able to kill somebody.
“I mean I do believe that Erik is a very good person. And you know now we‘re speaking out to try to you know get that out in the public, so…”
Tammi and Erik could finally enjoy their marriage like a regular couple if he is released, as stars, including Kim Kardashian, are campaigning for the brothers’ release.
Erik and Lyle Menendez are serving life sentences in prison after being found guilty of shooting their parents to death over 30 years ago.
August 20, 1989 – José and Kitty Menendez are shot to death
March 8, 1990 – Lyle is arrested for the murders
March 11, 1990 – Erik turns himself in
July 20, 1993 – Highly publicized trial begins and ends weeks later in a mistrial
October 11, 1995 – Second trial begins
March 20, 1996 – Menendez brothers are convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder
July 2, 1996 – Menendez brothers are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and sent to separate prisons
February 2018 – Lyle is transferred to the San Diego prison where Erik is held
April 4, 2018 – Erik and Lyle are reunited
May 2023 – Attorney representing the Menendez brothers files a habeas petition
September 19, 2024 – Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story comes out on Netflix
October 3, 2024: Los Angeles authorities reviewing new evidence in connection with the brothers’ convictions
On Thursday, October 3, the District Attorney held a press conference to announce that they would be reviewing new evidence in the case.
Tammi posted on X, “We truly value the support we’ve received following the District Attorney’s statement.
“We hold onto hope that this November will bring the resolution we have all been wishing for. We would deeply appreciate your ongoing prayers as we await their official response.”
The sexual assault allegations were examined during the first trial in 1993, but jurors were split over whether the brothers should be convicted of murder or manslaughter, and it ended in a mistrial.
Lyle alleged he was sexually abused by their father from the age of six, while Erik alleged the abuse never ended.
In October 1995, a second trial was held in which prosecutors claimed they lied about the alleged abuse.
The previous evidence linked to the abuse claims was also not allowed at the second trial.
Both were found guilty on charges of first-degree murder.
DOLLY Parton has remixed her hit single Jolene to awkwardly raise awareness and provide financial support to victims of Hurricane Helene.
The country music icon, 78, announced she plans on contributing $1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation, a nonprofit organization helping communities in East Tennessee that were impacted by the storm.
“Helene, Helene, Helene, you came in here and broke us all apart,” Parton sang to attendees at a Walmart parking lot in Newport, Tennessee, about an hour east of Knoxville.
On top of the generous donation, Parton’s Dollywood Parks & Resorts will contribute an additional $1 million, bringing her total contributions to $2 million.
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