[[{“value”:”
Film title:
The People’s Joker
Director:
Vera Drew
Starring:
Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Griffin Kramer, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart, Time Heidecker, Ruin Carroll, Bob Odenkirk, Scott Aukerman, Trevor Drinkwater, Denali Winter, Bambi Bell, Dan Curry, Daniella Baker, Shara Sherman
Release date:
21 Feb
Certificate:
15
After a lengthy legal battle with the parody-allergic Warner Brothers, Vera Drew’s queer satire The People’s Joker has finally been unleashed. This Joker origin story follows the titular harlequin (Griffin Kramer as a child, Drew as an adult and narrator) from her dreams of a life beyond Smallville to carving out a niche for herself as an “anti-comic” in Gotham City, inspired by a televised sketch comedy broadcast from the right-wing metropolis.
Along the way, Vera / Joker the Harlequin negotiates a complicated relationship with her mother (Lynn Downey), who we see in flashback booking her child an appointment in Arkham Asylum at the first hint of gender dysphoria. She also becomes entangled with Mr J (Kane Distler), another transgender anti-comedian who has a troubled history with the Batman – here, no moral Caped Crusader. Finding her true self and her place in the world requires one extravagant, irreverent transformation.
Drew, who directs, stars, and co-writes alongside Bri LeRose, uses comic book tropes and characters in a joyous allegory for LGBTQ+ disruption of heteronormative, corporatised societal structures. Aided by a combination of rudimentary animation and special effects that burst with invention and colour (no sepia Russo-Marvel tones here); cameo appearances from the likes of Maria Bamford, Tim Heidecker and Bob Odenkirk; and gleefully subversive running gags in the background, Drew’s colourful metanarrative celebrates the overexposed superhero (and supervillain) genre, finding genuine excitement, inspiration and community in these ubiquitous characters and dynamics.
Sharp, droll and utterly original, The People’s Joker is the perfect antidote to superhero fatigue.
Released 21 Feb by Matchbox Cine
“}]] Vera Drew’s bold, powerful and wildly inventive film follows a plucky trans kid from Smallville trying to make it big on Gotham City’s comedy scene. Read More