In a surprising twist, acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has come out in strong support of the much-maligned Joker sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux. In a recent appearance on The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast, Tarantino shared his unabashed admiration for the film and its director, Todd Phillips.
“I really, really liked it,” Tarantino stated, noting that he went into the film expecting “arms-length intellectual exercise” but instead found himself thoroughly “caught up in it.” The Pulp Fiction director even praised the much-criticized musical sequences, saying he thought “the more banal the songs were, the better they were.”
But Tarantino’s most intriguing insight came when he suggested that Phillips himself was channeling the Joker in his approach to making the film. “The Joker directed the movie,” Tarantino declared. “The entire concept, even him spending the studio’s money—he’s spending it like the Joker would, all right?”
The director went on to explain that Phillips’ “big surprise gift” to the audience was akin to “the jack-in-the-box, when he offers you his hand for a handshake and you get a buzzer with 10,000 volts shooting you.”
From Tarantino’s perspective, this was Phillips’ way of saying “f*** you to all of them.” He’s saying f*** you to the movie audience. He’s saying f*** you to Hollywood. He’s saying f*** you to anybody who owns any stock at DC and Warner Brothers.”
Tarantino even went to the extent of asserting that Todd Phillips is the Joker. It is indeed a film about the Joker. He is the Joker.” The director’s praise for Joker: Folie à Deux comes as a surprise, given the film’s lukewarm reception from both critics and audiences. The sequel to the 2019 hit Joker, which starred Joaquin Phoenix in an Oscar-winning performance, has struggled at the box office and drawn mixed reviews.
However, Tarantino seemed unfazed by the negative sentiment, calling Phoenix’s performance “one of the best I’ve ever seen in my life.” He even suggested that the actor should have won the Oscar over Leonardo DiCaprio for his work in the first Joker film.
Tarantino’s endorsement of Joker: Folie à Deux and its director, Todd Phillips, is a stark contrast to the reception the film has received from the broader film community. The director’s unique perspective, which frames the sequel as Phillips’ “f*** you” to Hollywood and comic book fans, adds an intriguing layer to the ongoing discussion surrounding the film.
As Joker: Folie à Deux continues to polarize audiences and critics, Quentin Tarantino’s seal of approval may provide a glimmer of hope for the film’s champions. Whether the director’s unconventional take on the film will sway public opinion remains to be seen, but his passionate defense of the project is certainly a noteworthy development in the ongoing Joker saga.