The sequel to Todd Phillips’ 2019 smash hit, Joker: Folie à Deux, received mixed reviews upon its release, and one of the stars of the sequel, Lady Gaga, has spoken about the negative criticism she received.
In an interview with Rolling Stone, musician and actress Gaga spoke about her experience facing tough feedback and criticism regarding Joker: Folie à Deux, where she played the psychotic counterpart to Joker, Harley Quinn. Gaga addressed what everyone was thinking in that: “There was a ton of negativity around Joker,” but she continued and added, “I was feeling artistically rebellious at the time.”
Lady Gaga: “I wasn’t unfazed. It’s funny, I’m almost nervous to share my reaction. But the truth is, when it first started happening, I started laughing. Because it was just getting so unhinged. When it takes a while for something to kind of dissipate, that can be a little bit more painful. Only because I put a lot of myself into it.”
Joker: Folie à Deux combined music with the dark and twisted world surrounding the sadistic character Arthur Fleck (played by Joaquin Phoenix) as he struggles to embrace his dual identity as the Joker. He stumbles upon his true love, Harley Quinn (played by Gaga), while incarcerated at Arkham Asylum, awaiting judgment for murdering someone on live TV.
The sequel failed to recoup its marketing and production costs after only earning $200 million at the global box office. However, it did find success when it was released to streaming services and topped the charts.
Unfortunately, it only has a 31% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is drastically different from Phillips’ first movie, which has 68%. Lead actor, Phoenix, won an Academy Award for Best Actor as well as several others for production. Joker (2019) earned over $1 billion worldwide at the box office.
While Gaga is mainly known for her music, she has appeared in a few projects, including Wednesday, House of Gucci, A Star is Born, and American Horror Story. Phoenix has more credits in the acting world for films such as Gladiator, Her, Napoleon, and Signs.
Director Phillips, known for The Hangover franchise, War Dogs, and Starsky & Hutch, has no plans to make a third installment to the movies and has stated the story is complete following Joker 2.
- Release Date
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October 4, 2024
- Runtime
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138 minutes
- Director
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Todd Phillips
- Writers
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Scott Silver, Todd Phillips, Paul Dini, Jerry Robinson, Bruce Timm, Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- Producers
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Emma Tillinger Koskoff