Quentin Tarantino Defends and Praises Critically Maligned ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’

Acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino has expressed his strong support for the critically and commercially unsuccessful film, ‘Joker: Folie à Deux‘, despite its poor reception from both critics and audiences. In a recent episode of Bret Easton Ellis‘s podcast, Tarantino shared his enthusiastic views about the musical sequel to the 2019 hit ‘Joker’, directed by Todd Phillips. The film, which has garnered only a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, has been a significant box office disappointment, earning less than $60 million in the US and $201 million globally, far below the original’s $1 billion worldwide gross.

Tarantino praised the film for its unconventional approach and Joaquin Phoenix‘s performance, calling it “one of the finest performances I have ever witnessed.” He appreciated the film’s musical segments and noted that the more banal the songs were, the better they worked within the context of the movie. Tarantino also commended Todd Phillips’s direction, likening him to the Joker himself, saying “The Joker was the one directing the film” and that Phillips was “utilizing the studio’s budget in a manner that the Joker would,” essentially giving a “big ‘screw you’ to everyone”.

Tarantino’s appreciation for the film extends to its anarchic spirit, which he believes is a deliberate challenge to the conventional norms of Hollywood and comic book movies. He described the film as “extremely humorous” and enjoyed how it antagonized fans of superheroes and the movie industry as a whole. This sentiment is echoed by Francis Ford Coppola, who also praised the film on Instagram, highlighting Phillips’s ability to stay ahead of audience expectations.

In contrast, Paul Schrader, whose screenplay for ‘Taxi Driver‘ inspired the original ‘Joker’, was less impressed, walking out of the sequel after just 15 minutes. Tarantino, however, found a personal connection to the film, noting that it reminded him of his own work on ‘Natural Born Killers‘, a film he wrote but was not satisfied with the final adaptation by Oliver Stone.