The People's Joker opens nationwide on April 5: “Legal. Seriously."
The People's Joker – Official Trailer (2024) Vera Drew, Lynn Downey
Back in 2022, Vera Drew's highly personal, incredibly irreverent stylized memoir The People's Joker made a splashy debut at the Toronto International Film Festival: DC Comics' parent company, Warner Bros., strongly warned Drew and TIFF that the film might violate copyright, so after the premiere they closed down all subsequent screenings, putting the film's future in doubt. It has taken years for The People's Joker to see the light of day, outside of the occasional festival screening. I saw it at Fantastic Fest 2023, where Vera Drew was present to talk about the experience, but was careful not to bring up the question of whether her film could ever get a real theatrical run. But now, according to the poster, "It's coming soon. Legally. Seriously."
The People's Joker has finally been cleared for release, albeit shrouded in disclaimers reminding everyone that it's not an official DC project, and that its satirical versions of Batman, The Joker, Harley Quinn, Penguin and other comic book characters are not. canon or connected to WB products. Not that anyone who has ever seen the movie could make that mistake. The People's Joker is unequivocally a personal story—specifically, a transgender awakening and coming-out story, complete with a first queer romance and a journey of self-definition.
It's modeled somewhat after Todd Phillips' Joker, but it's unmistakably its own riotous, joyful, deeply emotional creation, a genre mash-up that uses costumes, simple animation effects, digital veneers and silly props to stylize Vera's coming-of-age story by turning it into a pop art odyssey. Here is the official description:
