‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ has proven to be a disappointment for many fans worldwide, but there are exceptions. Given the massive success of its predecessor in 2019, fans had heavy expectations from the sequel starring Lady Gaga alongside Joaquin Phoenix.
Unfortunately, several issues with its making and the overall approach ended up disappointing fans. But not Quentin Tarantino. Marching in favor of his fellow mate Todd Phillips, Tarantino has praised the film despite its box office failure. Here’s what he said.
Quentin Tarantino Praises Todd Phillips’ ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’
Quentin Tarantino, known for making the best dark movies of Hollywood, has slipped into the critic’s shoes with his effusive appreciation for Todd Phillips’ dark musical sequel ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. Appearing recently on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, the director showed no restraint about his affection for the musical sequel featuring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga.
“I really, really liked it, really. A lot. Like, extremely,” Tarantino said, admitting he’d actually expected a remote, intellectual movie, not an entertaining motion picture. “But I thought it was going to be an arms-length, intellectual exercise that ultimately I wouldn’t think worked like a movie, but that I would appreciate it for what it is,” he said.
Related: ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’s Risky Musical Vision Was Based On Joaquin Phoenix’s Dream
Even when the film tanked a D Cinemascore and was not much of a commercial success, Quentin Tarantino remained fully invested. “I’m just nihilistic enough to kind of enjoy a movie that doesn’t quite work as a movie. That’s like a big, giant mess to some degree,” he explained, nodding to its messy appeal.
The musical numbers stuck with him too, as he noted, “I thought the more banal the songs were, the better they were.”
Todd Phillips’ Defiant Attitude Impressed Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino also revealed that he was especially attracted to Todd Phillips’ defiant attitude in ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’. “He’s saying f**k you to all of them. He’s saying f**k you to the movie audience. He’s saying f**k you to Hollywood. He’s saying f**k you to anybody who owns any stock at DC and Warner Brothers,” he said.
In case you missed it: Christopher Nolan’s Fallout With Warner Bros. Might Have Influenced ‘Joker: Folie À Deux’s Ending
He also went so far as to say that Phillips is the Joker himself. “And Todd Phillips is the Joker. Un film de Joker, all right, is what it is. He is the Joker,” he said.
Where the mixed reactions that the film has received from critics and the audience after its premiere showing at the Venice Film Festival sharply contrast, ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’ was a statement for Quentin Tarantino.
