The People's Joker: Movie Review

A fever dream neon mash up of Batman and a queer coming-of-age tale of trans comedian Vera Drew, The People's Joker is a dive into the DC Universe the likes of which you've never.

But it also seems to serve as a cathartic kind of therapy for Drew and their mother, throwing in copious amounts of insights into their relationship and interactions. Deciding to leave their family home in Smallville behind after years of unhappiness as a cis child, they head to Gotham City to find a new life.

There's a punkish irreverence through The People's Joker with a mash of pop culture references perverted, a familiar coming-of-age tale and a huge outsider art aesthetic that's engaging if you're in the right mood.

Made under fair use law and an extreme parody of a superhero origin movie in a very different way, The People's Joker actually has a tenderness underneath its punkish satirical edges as it follows a person struggling to find their identity and place in the world.

In terms of parallels, there's no easier comparison than with Batman's perverted world of villains and crooks - and the abusive relationship between the Joker and Drew's Joker the Harlequin is perhaps a sad examination of the toxicity Drew has had to endure in life.

Deliberately weird and completely the antithesis to what Hollywood has pumped out for years, The People's Joker is a curio of a film - it follows a traditional narrative in many ways under its Adult Swim-esque edges and treads a fine path toward self-discovery and self-acceptance.

This film is playing as part of the 2024 Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival. For more details, visit nziff.co.nz