An actor who appeared with Joaquin Phoenix in the film “Joker: Folie à Deux” has called the movie the ‘worst film ever made’.
It’s not uncommon for movie critics on social media to express such opinions, but it’s rare to hear them from someone who was part of the cast.
The critical remark came after the release of the sequel to the 2019 film “Joker” in October, where Phoenix returned as Arthur Fleck and Lady Gaga joined as Harley Quinn.
The original movie was a major success, earning Phoenix an Oscar for Best Actor, so fans had high expectations for the sequel. However, with a score of only 32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems the film did not meet those expectations.
Actor and comedian Tim Dillon, who portrayed an Arkham Asylum security guard in “Folie à Deux,” shared his thoughts during an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.
Dillon said: “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. This sent the wrong kind of message. Male rage! Nihilism!’ All these think pieces.”
“And then I think, ‘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.”
The decision to make “Joker: Folie à Deux” a musical sparked controversy, with many fans criticizing it even before its release.
Dillon suggested that it wasn’t just the musical elements that hindered the film’s success; he also claimed it lacked a coherent plot.
He revealed that he and other cast members would often question the movie’s direction during filming, saying: “We would sit there, 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 cr*p and I’d go, ‘What the f**k is this?’ And they’d go, ‘This is going to bomb, man.’”
Dillon continued: “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?’ It’s not even hate-watchable. That’s how terrible it is.”
Despite Dillon’s criticism, “Joker 2” has received some praise, most notably from director Quentin Tarantino, who told The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast that Phoenix delivers one of the best performances he’s ‘ever seen in [his] life’ in the sequel.