Time: 92 Minutes
Age Rating: M – Offensive language, sexual references & drug references
Cast:
Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin
Lynn Downey as Vera’s mother
Kane Distler as Mr. J
Nathan Faustyn as The Penguin
David Liebe Hart as Ra’s al Ghul
Phil Braun as Batman
Maria Bamford as Lorne Michaels
Christian Calloway as Dr. Jonathan Crane
Trevor Drinkwater as The Riddler
Ruin Carroll as Poison Ivy
Tim Heidecker as Perry White
Scott Aukerman as Mr. Freeze
Bob Odenkirk as Bob the Goon
Director: Vera Drew

I have been hearing a lot about The People’s Joker over the past couple of years or so. I knew that it was a parody of the 2018 Joker movie which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival, but Warner Bros had it pulled and attempted to ban it. After all the legal troubles, it is finally showing, and it happened to make its way to the NZIFF, which made it my fourth film of the festival. It was also the first time I went to a midnight screening and I found it to be quite the experience. 

The People’s Joker is a parody of Joker and plays around with the Batman IP. While on paper that sounds like a mere spoof on the iconic characters, it’s a bit different here. You can tell that writer/director Vera Drew has a love for the comic book lore and genre, and is using the Batman mythology to tell her own original story. The satire is done out of love, and if anything, it takes more shots at the entertainment and comedy industries. I’m not sure if the humour will be for everyone. but I found it to be funny and the comedy was woven well into the actual story. The People’s Joker was a more nuanced movie than I was expecting. At its core, it is a personal coming of age story about one exploring their transgender identity and their self acceptance. Despite the goofiness of the film, it is definitely made with a lot of sincerity and hits a lot of emotional beats. It does take a bit to get into the movie in the first act, partially because it takes a while to get used to the narrative style and tone. By the end of the first act though, I was on board all the way to the end and found it to be very entertaining. From my experience, it was best watched in a crowded setting; it was great watching it in the cinema.

The cast is great. Vera Drew is charismatic and funny in the lead role, and the supporting cast are equally good, especially with Nathan Faustyn and Kane Distler. 

This is the first feature film from Vera Drew and her debut was quite impressive. The style might not be for everyone, it is certainly very jarring as it begins. The best way I can describe much of the visuals and editing is that it feels ripped straight from YouTube sketch comedy. It definitely has a lower budget, but has a lot of charm to it, especially with the green screen, limited sets, and the animation segments (which are done with various different animation styles). Much of the direction was very creative, and even surprisingly surreal at points. 

The People’s Joker is a hilarious, surreal, parodic, satirical, yet personal and sincere coming of age story, creatively written and directed. Well worth watching in the cinema if you have the opportunity to do so.