The People's Joker (2022)

The People’s Joker

• The only thing I knew about this film going into it was literally just the synopsis. And of course, the fact that it parodies the Joker and other DC characters. That’s already a huge selling point for me, and then you go and make everything queer? Hell yeah. I have a lot of positive things to say,  but I’ll get the small complaints out of the way first. It’s mostly just that the quality was obviously based on the budget of ten dollars and a can of soup, but it gives this film so much charm and humor that I wouldn’t have it any other way. So it’s not even a complaint. The other one is that it took a while to get used to the style and aesthetic, and most of my senses were a bit overwhelmed. On a rewatch, I know I’ll enjoy this so much more. Now for the positive. Where do I start? The story takes a lot of DC elements but throws a trans coming-of-age spin on it, which was so beautiful to watch. Even though it’s technically not DC, I still love seeing queer DC. SO MUCH. But yeah, the story was very deep but also very comedic and goofy, and I’m here for it. The comedy was written way over the top, but surprisingly, pretty much everything landed, even when it was almost horrible. I haven’t smiled and giggled this much in a while. Vera Drew is so vulnerable, yet so wonderfully joyous and brilliant. You can clearly see how much sweat, blood, and tears that she put into this, and I’m so glad that she was able to create this and present it in the way she wanted to. Aesthetically, this takes a huge leaf out of Joel Schumacher’s book (when it comes to his Batman work), and I was totally vibing. Even though it’s a lot to take in, and it’s clearly very low budget, it still just….works. The character designs were so good and all the references were just off the charts. Overall, it’s a very simple and seemingly homemade film, but it has such powerful messaging and every queer person needs to watch this. I promise that you’ll feel so seen. I would recommend this to everyone. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!