Quentin Tarantino recently expressed his support for the film Joker: Folie à Deux, despite its poor reviews and box office performance. During an appearance on Bret Easton Ellis’s podcast, the writer-director praised the musical sequel directed by Todd Phillips, which received a low rating of 32% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Tarantino admitted, “I really, really liked it, really. A lot. Like, tremendously.” He went into the movie expecting an intellectual exercise but found himself fully immersed in the story. He commended Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as one of the best he has ever seen and even compared the film to his own script for Natural Born Killers, which was drastically rewritten in the past.
The director also praised Phillips for his bold approach to the film, saying, “The Joker directed the movie. The entire concept, even him spending the studio’s money – he’s spending it like the Joker would spend it, all right? … He’s saying fuck you to all of them. He’s saying fuck you to the movie audience. He’s saying fuck you to Hollywood.”
Tarantino found the film to be “really funny” and particularly enjoyed the musical sequences. Despite its negative reception at the Venice Film Festival and disappointing box office numbers, Tarantino and fellow director Francis Ford Coppola have lauded the film for its unconventional approach.
However, not everyone was impressed with Joker: Folie à Deux. Paul Schrader, whose screenplay Taxi Driver inspired the first Joker film, only watched a small portion of the sequel before walking out, unimpressed.