“Folie a Deux” is a bad musical and was thrown out

Paul Schrader went to the cinema to see Joker: Folie à Deux and only lasted about 20 minutes before deciding he couldn't take it any longer. The “Joker” sequel starring Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga failed at the box office due to negative reviews and is expected to lose between $150 million and $200 million over its run.

“I saw about 10 or 15 minutes of it,” Schrader said while speaking with Jeremy O. Harris for Interview magazine. “I went, bought something, came back and watched another 10 minutes. That was enough.”

Schrader's distinguished career includes writing screenplays for films such as “Taxi Driver,” which served as the main inspiration for the first “Joker” film in 2019. He then called the sequel “a really bad musical.”

“I don’t like any of these people,” he added of Gaga and Phoenix. “I don’t like her as an actor. I don't like them as characters. I don't like the whole thing. I mean, these are people who, if they came to your house, would disappear out the back door.”

While anticipation for “Joker: Folie à Deux” was high after the film grossed $1 billion at the global box office in 2019 and earned Phoenix the Oscar for Best Actor, the sequel was quickly met with negative reviews following its release at the premiere Venice Film Festival. The film grossed a paltry $37 million at the domestic box office. diversity reports that the sequel is expected to finish its theatrical run with around $210 million worldwide, while the first Joker film grossed $248.4 million worldwide after three days of release.

In his review of the sequel diversity Owen Gleiberman wrote: “The concept is bold, but the execution less so in a film that retreats from the danger of 'Joker.'” The casting of Lady Gaga certainly sounded promising, as she is a great actress and has been ( among other things) sent to Earth to make musicals. But Gaga, who is a beautiful, easy-going presence in “Folie à Deux,” is drastically underused.”

“Joker: Folie à Deux” continues to play in theaters nationwide.