The People's Joker

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1:37

The People's Joker

2024

1h 32m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

120 Reviews

63%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

In the absurdist autobiographically-inspired dark comedy, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin) grapples with her gender identity while unsuccessfully attempting to join the ranks of Gotham City's sole comedy program in a world where comedy has been outlawed. Uniting with a ragtag team of rejects and misfits, Joker the Harlequin forms an illegal anti-comedy troupe that puts her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader controlling the city.

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Critics Consensus

The People's Joker uses classic characters in impressively inventive ways, working within a familiar framework to tell an invigorating story of self-acceptance.

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Ryan Gilbey

Sight & Sound

Nov 5

The film is hectic but not haphazard, its layers merging revealingly on the level of allusion and autobiography.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

02/28/2025

4/5

The DC Extended Universe should take notes. This legally challenged DIY parody is, hands down, the most innovative superhero film of the decade.

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Violet Lucca

Little White Lies

02/14/2025

5/5

Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker is a multihyphenate masterpiece.

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Pedro Gallego

Espinof

Aug 19

4/5

Drew pours so much of herself into this strange passion project that it's almost hard to believe she'll ever come up with another even remotely similar idea. [Full review in Spanish]

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Codie Allen

Geek Vibes Nation

Jul 22

9/10

The People’s Joker emerges as a striking testament to cinema's ability to provoke transformation—a vibrant homage to resilience, self-expression, and the relentless pursuit of authenticity.

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Jeffrey Overstreet

Looking Closer

Jul 4

B

I want to live in a world where movies as passionately personal, as relentlessly creative, as exhilarating in their "deal-with-it" truth-telling — movies like this one — aren’t such rare occasions.

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Oliver S

@RT24425884 Jan 27

For a fan film it is really good. I LOVE the blend between animation and live action in this movie.

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Éléonore T

@RT94211081 Jan 22

It absolutely shouldn't work. An auto-fictional trans indie punk retelling of the joker heavily influenced by alternative cinema and animation? Sounds like a very slow and painful nightmare. And yet, it does work. The pacing is amazing, the collage of aesthetics and psychedelic influences doesn't feel gratuitous. It all actually comes together. Even the fact of telling a deeply personal story through "parody"/homage to the franchise feels meaningful and a gust of fresh air in a time when their toxic masculinity, aestheticized grime, and overall commercialism has devoured itself into artistic nonexistence. A better movie than many in the actual franchise.

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Brandon S

@Brandoom Jan 11

I heard it was worth checking out regardless of the subject matter, low budget and DC parody, but this was a bit of a slog to get through. I mean if this was just a student film, I'd be more forgiving but it clearly had industry involvement but still seemed clunky. I think if Vera stuck with directing and let someone with acting experience play the lead it would've been much better.

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Case B

@Spoonm4000 Jan 5

Pure narcissism. Everyone knows that guy who likes to dress up as the joker. This is that.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Aug 22

A surprisingly good low budget use of DC IP to explore comedy and self discovery.

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IH H

@Inti94 01/07/2025

Wouldn't recommend something this forced to anyone

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The People's Joker: Trailer 1

1:37

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Synopsis

In the absurdist autobiographically-inspired dark comedy, a painfully unfunny aspiring clown (Vera Drew as Joker the Harlequin) grapples with her gender identity while unsuccessfully attempting to join the ranks of Gotham City's sole comedy program in a world where comedy has been outlawed. Uniting with a ragtag team of rejects and misfits, Joker the Harlequin forms an illegal anti-comedy troupe that puts her on a collision course with the devious caped crusader controlling the city.

Director: Vera Drew
Producer: Joey Lyons
Screenwriter: Vera Drew, Bri LeRose
Distributor: Altered Innocence
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 5, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 6, 2024
Runtime: 1h 32m

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