The People's Joker

 I know what you're thinking. 

How did Vera Drew, a comedienne and Emmy-nominated editor, manage to convince DC Comics, and by extension, Warner Bros., to sign off on an indie Batman parody that also draws from her own life story?

She didn't. But she made it anyway.

The People's Joker, which is the subject of this review, premiered in 2022 for a single screening at the Toronto International Film Festival. All other screenings were cancelled after a strongly worded letter. It finally saw the light of day in theatres this past April and is currently ready to watch on your favorite streaming services. So, let's go nuts and see what this is about.

Drew, in addition to directing, co-writing, and editing the film, is also the Joker herself. Joker the Harlequin, to be precise. She tells her life story as a poor child (Griffin Kramer) in Smallville, raised by a neurotic mother (Lynne Downey) and an absent father. Joker is immediately prescribed Smylex, the world's worst antidepressant, the second she hints at gender dysphoria. As a young adult, Joker moves to the fascist Gotham City, which polices comedy itself. Joker's only option, it seems, is to apply to the United Clown Bureau, pay its high tuition fees, and join the cast of UCB Live. She meets a fellow misfit, Oswald Cobblepot (Nathan Faustyn), and they decide to form their own "anti-comedy" troupe.

Joker soon falls for one of these comedy criminals, a trans man named Mr. J (Kane Distler). Joker and J's relationship soon turns toxic thanks to J's abusive narcissistic personality. In other news, Joker's mom tries to reconnect with her, while Batman (Phil Braun) comes out of retirement to bring the troupe "to justice." It's enough to drive any clown mad, and this Joker soon decides to take down the comedy system. I think that pretty much sums it up.

The film fully embraces whatever low budget it has. To start with, the visual effects are intentionally crummy. We have characters walking through crude, yet colorful backgrounds. A few characters, including Poison Ivy and Perry White, are depicted as cruder cartoon characters. Batman himself is just a cartoon character. It even shifts to different animation styles for a few scenes, even Barbie-style! Its color scheme is extremely garish, particularly when Smylex is used. It's as intentionally silly as the comics of the 1966 Batman, but there's a point to the madness.

It has a lot of points. It doesn't shy away from showing the toxicity of Joker and J's relationship. Sure, J may seem sympathetic, particularly when we learn his history with Batman, but his guilt-shaming isn't so sympathetic. Joker emphasizes J's controlling behavior with some tips, one of which is "don't date comedians." The film takes further takes potshots at misogyny, hypocrites and the ostracization of LGBT-people. A lot of them are directed at Batman, while others are directed at the film's in-universe TV shows. Smylex, in particular, forces a smile on its user, but doesn't change their mood. I don't think I need to tell you how terrifying that is. 

Drew makes for a great Clown Princess of Comedy Crime. Joker is compelling whether she is a shy "Jokeman," as UCB Live designates her, or a confidant Harlequin. Even if her signature act, laughing at others' tragic backstories, isn't to your taste, her friendship with her fellow anti-comedians is nice to see. She and Oswald are believable best buddies, and her surprise for him at the end is unambiguously amusing. She later forms an amusing student-teacher relationship with comic vet Ra's Al Ghul (David Liebe Hart), who is much more profound than he lets on. She's also quite sympathetic as she deals with her relationships with her mother, and later, with J. Her final scene is surreal, but then again, so is this movie.

Anything else to mention? Joker's mom's hysterics are quite unbearable, and she only gradually gets better once she comes to terms with Joker's identity. Much less sympathetic is Joker's psychiatrist, Dr. Crane (Christian Calloway), who prescribed him Smylex in the first place. We also get two scenes from Robert Wuhl, who played Alexander Knox in Tim Burton's Batman, the second of which sees him endorse this endeavor. Among the film's other animated characters include Killer Croc, Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze, and even a fictionalized Lorne Michaels (Maria Bamford). They add a lot to the silliness. Oh yeah, and let's not forget the plethora of Bat-Jokes and Bat-References.

Joker: Folie a Deux may be a disappointment, but at least The People's Joker can make up for that. This unauthorized parody is equally garish and profound, and is by far, one of the year's most memorable comic book movies. Nay, one of the most memorable comic book movies ever. You might believe it when you see it, but you'd still have a hard time explaining it. It took me at least seven hours to write this down. That time, along with the ninety-something minutes I spent watching the movie, was worth it. Just see it. That's it for now.