Famously pulled from the Toronto International Film Festival, Vera Drew’s one-of-a-kind satire The People’s Joker is finally getting set to be officially unleashed this year.
Altered Innocence will release The People’s Joker in select theaters on April 5, 2024, with THR reporting today that the film will be playing at Alamo Drafthouse locations nationwide.
You can find full theatrical listings over on the Altered Innocence website.
The team previews, “This revolutionary DIY parody film and hilarious reimagining of the classic autobiographical coming-of-age story follows an unconfident, closeted trans girl as she moves to Gotham City to make it big as a comedian by joining the cast of UCB Live – a government-sanctioned late night sketch show in a world where comedy has been outlawed.
“As mainstream success eludes our heroine, leading her to unite with a ragtag team of rejects, misfits, and a certain love interest named Mister J, “Joker the Harlequin” is born again as a confident (and psychotic) joker on a collision course with the city’s fascist caped crusader. Vats of feminizing chemicals, sexy cartoon interludes, scarecrow psychiatrists, CGI Lorne Michaels, and psychedelic gender dysphoria all play supporting roles.
“Helmed by writer/director/editor/star Vera Drew and using her own life experiences as a basis for the film, The People’s Joker is a deeply personal journey that’s as much documentary as it is parody. The film features a superhero-sized cast of celebrated comedic talent in both voice and live action roles behind the vibrant kaleidoscope of characters that lampoon the iconic heroes and villains of the DC comics’ world, featuring cameos from comedy multi-hyphenate Tim Heidecker, award-winning actor Bob Odenkirk, Maria Bamford (Big Mouth, Teenage Euthanasia), and Scott Aukerman (Between Two Ferns), with Vera Drew, Lynn Downey (Daisy Jones & The Six), Nathan Faustyn (SADDLED), and Kane Distler, in his film debut as Mister J.”
“Vera Drew has taken her own life experiences and traumas to craft an entirely new genre of cinema that blurs the lines between documentary, coming-of-age film, and parody,” said Altered Innocence’s Frank Jaffe. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to champion this bold, intelligent and hilarious piece of queer cinema that audiences around the globe have fallen in love with.”
“This movie started as a D.I.Y. community project for queer artists, and I made it with my friends to process what it was like coming out as a trans woman working in the film and TV industry,” Drew said. “It has been a long road freeing ‘The People’s Joker’ and finding a release plan that rings true to the queer, anarchist spirit we had while making it. What better home than among Altered Innocence’s catalog of gorgeously gay and deliciously edgy films.”
Joe Lipsett reviewed The People’s Joker for Bloody Disgusting last year, writing: “This transgender Joker origin story is steeped in Batman and DC references, but it is unabashedly ruthless in who and what it mocks, resolutely taking aim at certain canonical characters and plotlines while also reverently paying homage to many iterations of Batsy.”
Joe’s review continued, “The People’s Joker is an unabashed love letter to Batman properties, to camp, stand-up comedians, and – most importantly – the trans community. It is daring and ambitious and unapologetic. Plus: it’s got a killer soundtrack of parody songs.”
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