Self-important and limelight for all

The People’s Joker (2022, Vera Drew) wants you to think it’s about what it takes to discover your own identity and embrace it. But the problem is it’s really about wanting to be seen and heard by everyone; not merely being recognized or accepted but more like fame, or notoriety. If that sounds familiar maybe it’s because it’s the Rupert Pupkin DNA of Joker (2019, Todd Phillips). But in those films isn’t the protagonist clearly deranged as a warning of how sad and scary it could be for someone to want fame so desperately to the point of being delusional despite having like zero talent or reason to likely become a celebrity themselves? So where does that leave us?

     Is the real life filmmaker so deranged she is under the delusion that just because she came out as a trans woman that her life story deserves its own movie? Apparently. Because that’s what the whole movie felt like: a tedious spoken word open mic night of her life story. I don’t think there’s anything subversive about The People’s Joker. It’s like it defies the movie rule of show don’t tell by doing just the opposite—which proves the point of the rule, that from there boredom ensues. And why does it have to feel so topical? Or what I guess I mean is like buzz words, or easy, obvious pop culture trendy jargon like in a real low point of a scene where not only do we see her being gaslit, but her toxic partner uses an actual gaslight to do so; and this same partner is not only a one dimensional textbook narcissistic type but even gets his own on-screen checklist. This movie feels like it was written by a pop sociology AI. 
     Ok the part taken from the DC comics where we see her hormone injections transition as falling into the chemical vat was kinda clever. Although it feels like that’s maybe the only idea that was used to convince anyone that making this movie was a good idea. And I mean yeah deadnaming and t4t awareness is cool but again like feels labored as if under some burden to spell everything out. The worst cringe wasn’t the holocaust joke, but that after its delivery she felt compelled to explain to the audience that Treblinka was the site of a concentration camp. I’m sorry. I do feel bad writing such a negative review. 

4/14/2024 Plaza Theatre
Atlanta, GA
DCP