Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to 2019's Joker, turned out to be a critical and commercial failure, drawing in abysmal reviews from critics and drastically underperforming at the box office. And even a background actor from the film has come forward to disparage the movie.
Comedian and podcast host Tim Dillon recalled his experience working on the film during a recent episode of Joe Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience. Dillon had a minor role as an Arkham guard in the movie, but even in the middle of filming he recalled having his reservations on the Todd Phillips project.
"Me and these other guys were all dressed in these security outfits because we’re working at the Arkham Asylum, and I would turn to one of them and we’d hear this crap and I’d go, ‘What the f— is this?'" Dillon said on the Nov. 6 episode, via Entertainment Weekly. "And they’d go, 'This is going to bomb, man.' I go, 'This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen.'"
"We were talking about it at lunch, and we’d go, 'What is the plot? Is there a plot? I don’t know, I think he falls in love with her in the prison?'" the 39-year-old continued.
Dillon also had a theory about why the film didn't work. Despite the success of the first film, there was criticism in some corner of media that the titular character might inspire men who identified with the film to commit violence. As such, he thinks that the sequel tried too hard to course correct.
"I think what happened, after the first Joker, there was a lot of talk like, 'Oh, this was loved by incels. This was loved by the wrong kinds of people," Dillon theorized. "This sent the wrong kind of message. Male rage! Nihilism! All these think pieces."
"I think [they asked], 'What if we went the other way?' And now they have Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga tap dancing to a point where it’s insane," he added.
Indeed, to date Joker: Folie à Deux has grossed a box office worldwide total of just $204.8 million, falling drastically short of its reported $450 million break-even point. The film also closed in with a measly 32 percent critic and audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, making a third installment unlikely.
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