The People's Joker (2024)

It happened. At long last. I had been wanting a way, any (legal) way, to watch, and support, The People's Joker since I first heard about it last year. The opportunity finally came my way with a limited online event, allowing me to rent both the film and a Q & A between writer-director Vera Drew and Grant Morrison. I hoped it would live up to my expectations, and I am happy to say that it exceeded them.

Working around the main line of "you want to know how I got these emotional scars?", The People's Joker is a wild and brilliant exploration of gender, self-expression, and the very obvious appeal to those who feel "othered" of comic book characters who spend a lot of their time processing their own trauma while writhing around in leather and/or latex. It has been said many times lately, because it is very true, but when others are trying to erase your existence from the world then simply living your life is a wonderful act of rebellion. Vera Drew, portraying the lead character of Joker The Harlequin here, embraces that ethos, and uses the meta-layering of the film to present an astonishingly authentic and anarchic version of a character others have sometimes struggled with.

Co-written by Drew and Brie LeRose, this is a film as defiant as the woman at the helm of it. Considering all of the legal ramifications and constant dancing around (and over and under) copyright, all of which is acknowledged at both the start and end of the film, this feels like a bizarre collage that shouldn't exist. Drew claims "fair use", a canny tactic as her appropriation of the famous DC characters are being used to depict and explore her journey through life, but I have to think that she's also been allowed to keep her vision intact thanks to those who saw the film and recognised the brilliance of the central conceit. There are a number of intertwining main strands here that intertwine on the way to the final scenes. We see Drew struggling to communicate her feelings to her mother (Lynn Downey). We see Drew figuring out, and deciding whether to embrace or smother, her persona, Joker The Harlequin. The character also falls for a certain Mr. J (Kane Distler), who comes with a large number of red flags. And then there's an ongoing worry about the long-term effects of Smylex, the "miracle drug" that definitely has no insidious side-effects whatsoever.

It's hard to praise this without sounding hyperbolic, but it's an interconnected series of insightful skits that feels absolutely masterful in how it weaves together comedy, pathos, commentary, and IP. A few of the jokes may seem a bit obvious, but most of them are smart and genuinely funny. All of the performances work as they need to with the material, with Drew being a fantastic anchor for the whole thing, and highlights include Downey, Lister, Nathan Faustyn (as Penguin), Trevor Drinkwater (The Riddler), and a very special cameo from one Mr. Boop. Various goons make trouble, "Batsy" (voiced by Phil Braun) is amusingly mocked, and Lorne Michaels (voiced by Maria Bamford) seems to fit nicely alongside anyone else who could be perceived as either a superhero or super-villain.

The effects all work well, whether being obviously fake and cheesy or being used to complement the main action as seamlessly as possible, there are some impressive bits of animation, and the end result feels exactly like what it is - a collaboration between many artists and like-minded individuals in service of one unifying vision. It's also worth mentioning the superb score from Justin Krol and Quinn Scharber, but I'll also compliment Laura Wheeler (costume design), Nate Cornett (cinematography), Courtney McIntosh (production designer), and everyone else who came together to deliver us a brilliantly unique experience.

You may not love this as much as I did, but I'm pretty sure you won't have seen anything else like it. I really hoped to enjoy this. The more I think on it, the more I view it as a modern masterpiece. 

10/10

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