{Movie Review} The People’s Joker (2024/2022)

My history with The People’s Joker is complicated. Not in any personal or negative way. Rather I feel like I have been interested in this film for most of my life as a critic. Fantastic Fest is a SHE favorite and has been for some time. In 2022 the buzz amongst some of the media attending was that a film called The People’s Joker uses a lot of the DC IP to tell a different version of events. A version of events where the Joker is the real hero and Batman is kind of an asshole (having watched it, a BIG asshole). It is more importantly explicitly a queer film. The Joker, played by writer/director Vera Drew, is trans and by the end of the film fully embraces herself as a combination character Joker-The Harlequin. This new character is played with such authenticity and vulnerability the audience can’t help but embrace both the character and Drew’s performance. As a DC-curious guy, I was very excited. Days before the festival started news broke that the film had been pulled because of legal issues. It was a sad day.

Sad days don’t last forever but almost two years later I am so stoked to be writing this review. The People’s Joker is not the best film in the world but it’s kind of a miracle it exists and there is no doubt that queer kids everywhere will check this movie out and feel like they finally have something and someone to cheer for after a year of absolutely horrendous abuse.

BEEP’s origin story starts as a story we may recognize (Joker’s dead name is beeped throughout the movie. Just one more creative way Drew handles the complex issue of being trans in a world that makes it difficult). Born in the wrong body The Joker seeks a different life. A life free from the yoke of their conservative abusive mother. A life of comedy. Which in this version of Gotham has been outlawed. What is not illegal is the use of Smylex, a drug that will put a smile on your face while helping you forget how miserable your life is. As The Joker progresses and continues to push boundaries both as a comedian and also a trans member of a conservative society she meets allies willing to help and lovers who seek to sabotage. Mostly though Joker The Harlequin struggles and it is in those struggles the movie shines.

Stylistically the film feels like a cross between late 80’s MTV pop up video and the Gabriel Byrne vehicle Cool World. Again, not really a criticism as I like both of those things. The design is clever often blurring the boundaries between animation, and real life. Cartoons and Human Beings. The really clever conceit of The People’s Joker is that gender is not the only binary it is attempting to deconstruct. As we enter the third act we meet The Batman. Mostly Batman is a Chad with a penchant for excessive force. In this world, the good guys aren’t always good and the bad guys aren’t always bad (although many of them still are). Whether it’s gender, archetypes, or genre itself The People’s Joker wants you to examine your assumptions. As a result, there were moments when I felt like I was in an art installation. I was surrounded by beautiful images but occasionally I didn’t exactly know what I was supposed to get from it all. Sometimes looking good is enough but I can’t help but think a bit more clarity in the storytelling might have provided more structure to the experience.

The world building is a massive strength. From the clowned version of SNL(the UCB) to the clever use of other DC characters this version of Gotham felt real and grimly fun. When the film leans into the world and the plot it hums and left me smiling. The third act gets bogged down a bit by spending too much time examining the relationship between Mr. J and The Joker. It feels slightly less provocative and as a result a bit ordinary. The Joker-Harlequin is a bad bitch and I found myself way more interested in how they take down the system than examining how toxic some relationships can be. Although I found the conversation surrounding Batman’s penchant for grooming Robin to be both disgusting and hilarious. I mean when you look at it, their relationship is pretty fraught.

The People’s Joker gets a wide theatrical release this weekend. Find a theatre. It is worth a watch. It is a miracle that trans kids are still surviving after everything they have been through. It’s a miracle this film got made. It’s a bigger miracle it got released. Movies sometimes get it right. The People’s Joker is one of those movies.