’The People’s Joker’ review: Vera Drew delivers high-octane mayhem

Vera Drew delivers an intoxicatingly punk parody in The People’s Joker. Imbued with heartfelt anarchy, Drew directs, stars in, and co-writes the film alongside Bri LeRose. With a dizzying cacophony of artistic choices, filmmaking styles, and pointed, severe tone clashes, the film is, without question, unlike any other movie you’ll see this year. Wildly independent and brimming with Drew’s hyper-aware commentary and potential, it’s a must-watch for those looking for a film that refuses to bend to the will of mainstream media. 

An unnofficial parody

Shot with a DIY approach, this unofficial Batman comics parody The People’s Joker follows a young woman (Vera Drew) in a dystopian future. Riddled by the oppression of her past, she sets out to embark on her journey away from the gender dysphoria and anxiety that hounded her youth. At the film’s start, our unnamed protagonist asks her mother if they were born in the wrong body. The moments lead the protagonist to be prescribed Smylex, a drug that forces its users to fake happiness, no matter the depression they’re weathering. 

The dystopia in question is run by Batman, whose philanthropy of the comics is switched to capitalistic fear-mongering and control. Batman drones loom threatening in the skies. His approach to training disenfranchised youth to be his Robin’s take on a more sinister, predatory lens. Drew and LeRose’s script wounds ruthlessly as it peels back the ominous nature of heroes’ tales. And they do so while doing it with an acidic grin that speaks to the film’s tone. The world is full of ugliness; sometimes, you just need to laugh despite the pain. Laugh while facing the pain head-on, even. 

It’s an idea that our protagonist, going by Joker the Harlequin/Vera, embraces. She finds herself through the love of a new partner, a Joker she refers to as Mr. J (Kane Distler), and the subsequent fallout of their relationship due to his emotionally manipulative ways. Their relationship is how Vera can come to terms with the fact that she is a trans woman. Despite the absurdity of the project baked into the visual DNA of the film, there’s a soulful throughline that speaks to gender expression and trans identity that anchors the otherwise unruly story. 

More than just visual mayhem

While the film labels itself as an unofficial DC parody, the characters are familiar in name, if not in imagery, ramping up the hilarity of the situations these characters find themselves in. The majority of the film features the live-action performance of Drew and the supporting players. However, much of the film comes to life by crowdsourced animation. The animation is zany and captivating. It’s a clear labor of love, granting this wild child coming-of-age story gravitas it otherwise couldn’t fathom achieving. It’s a patchwork love letter to what it means to grow up hiding. The film reaches a hand out to those forcibly masking to keep more significant potential threats at bay. Vera simply wants to keep the barely mitigated peace steady between her and her mother. 

Despite its coming-of-age backbone, no element falls into tedium, eschewing practical storytelling effects and easy beats for more extensive, bolder laughs. A SNL stand-in — UCB Live — measures the effectiveness of potential cast members by how easily malleable they are. The controlling totalitarian business Batman runs ban Vera from dressing as herself on stage but sells Pride stickers. 

From Adult Swim-style animation to off-putting rudimentary figures instead of actual living actors, The People’s Joker feverishly scales the walls of satire. The film lobs meta-commentary and hysteria at the audience with gleeful abandon. The film runs a little long and could’ve bore a tighter edit, even at only 90 minutes. And not every joke lands with precision. But it never entirely loses our engagement. The absurdism gets the right amount of visual mayhem. Meanwhile, the heartfelt story at its center refuses to relinquish its hold. Somehow, Drew manages this impossible balancing act. 

From musical numbers and animation sequences to a poignant story of self-acceptance against impossible odds, The People’s Joker refuses to adhere to a set standard. And it’s better for it. A simple parody will get laughs, but the confidence of Vera Drew’s film emboldens a story to be something more. It’s something that’s somehow righteously earnest while being a hyper-aware comedy that satirizes millennial pop culture and our relationship to it. The film is a breath of fresh air. It’s, honestly, not to switch studios, what Deadpool wishes it could be. 

The People’s Joker is playing now in limited theaters.

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Images Courtesy of Altered Innoncence