Synopsis
Trailers
Reviews (129)
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V
It’s exactly the film we set out to make. I love it more than I thought I could love something I made and I hope I get to watch it in a theater soon with more people. Thanks to everyone who is nice on here ❤️ Free the People’s Joker
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V
The Whammy VHS Party/Screening was immaculate. I signed multiple breasts.
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J
rarely do I see a film with so much love in it, what a beautiful collaboration.
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SSally Jane Black 8 月 23, 2026
A parody and a pastiche of DC movies, comics, and television shows disguising a vulnerable, moving narrative of trans self-realization, trauma, and actualization; this film welds styles, references, and source material in a way that creates a vibrant, earnest amalgamation that does not lose its pathos in the midst of its sharp humor. While this is ostensibly a parody of Joker and Batman films, this saves its most vicious barbs for the comedy industry and capitalism in general. Its jokes come as much from trans in-jokes and queer pain as they do from the endless parade of Batman media and comedy entertainment they’re dissecting. I am no fan of comic book movies, nor Batman in general, but I watched enough…
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GGriffin Newman 8 月 23, 2026
The best movie ever made about The Joker in the same way that The Lego Batman Movie is the best movie ever made about Batman.
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V
I forgot to log this last week because it’s been a whirlwind. Watched the movie one last time (for now) with the crowd in NYC at our theatrical premiere. I don’t remember much of the night. I don’t know how to emotionally process the response that people are having to this film or how cool this all is. I think this is all going well. Maybe? People tell me that it is. Richard Brody likes the movie and that’s cool. Bobcat Goldthwait just followed me on Instagram so like. And this movie being out there is like clearly already changing a lot of trans people’s lives. It must be going well…Last night at one of our LA screenings I signed…
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W
Glad I made the impulsive decision to see this very funny movie at its TIFF Midnight Madness premiere before its other festival screenings were abruptly cancelled, presumably because Bruce Wayne put pressure on his buddies at Warner Bros to stop the truth about him from getting out. Big, monopolistic corporations plaster superheroes over every visible surface of our cultural landscape, to the point where some gullible souls start believing that these characters are “our modern myths.” But if Batman and Co actually are our new, shared mythology then we all should be able to tell their stories instead of letting one company tightly regulate its expression. What I’m saying is, Batman should be in the public domain now, like “Happy Birthday” finally is. Hope this gets to play again in uncensored form, but if not, I’m sure that screener file will find a way out.
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V
Screening our 35mm premiere at the New Bev was life changing. The most present and there I’ve ever been at one of these. Lookin up during the intro and seeing the Rick Dalton poster was a reality check. God and the film print looks So DAMN GOOOOOOOOD. If you get the chance, you gotta see this movie projected on film. It’s one of, if not The Definitive version of the film (I’ll be able to say for sure once I see it on VHS). Making this film saved my life. I love you all. Thanks for the encouragement. Thanks for coming to screenings. For dressing up. For caring and carrying me through the tough times. And for letting me share joy with you. It’s why we’re here (on Earth). I’m tired of being cynical. I’m tired of being tired. Art is all I wanna do and all I wanna do after that is share it with you 💜
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L
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J
The most moving film to feature a naked CGI Lorne Michaels slipping on a banana peel and falling to his death. For all of the wild mixed media art on display (There’s even a sequence animated like in Bruce Timm’s Batman), THE PEOPLE’S JOKER is a deeply personal story about an individual grappling with her identity, how she expresses herself and the difficulty she’s had with relationships (past and present). It’s got that Tim & Eric aesthetic, who Writer/Director/Editor/Star Vera Drew has worked a lot with, but it’s as far as glib as you can get. By draping the story in the clothes of a certain caped crusader (who Vera Drew is clearly a super fan of), it allows the emotional…
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A
Las noches de insomnio suelen descubrirme películas improbables. Aunque de todas, este sueño febril queer no-autorizado pero sí no-prohibido por Warner puede ser la que más improbable sea. Porque hace falta mucho desparpajo para ensamblar una historia así, entre cromas, saltando de estilo a lo Spiderverse pero sin el presupuesto. Atreviéndose a usar la mitología como la de Batman como abecedario común según el que todos nos entendemos. Y que será muy difícil de explicar a futuras generaciones. Es impresionista…
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TTristan Ettleman 8 月 21, 2026
This is one of the best new(ish) movies I’ve seen in a hot minute. I was already in awe of the legal battles this encountered and was so happy it could be released in a broader way. And I finally got around to watching the damn thing and its aesthetic, thematic, and subject matter contentions fit the boldness of that element I watched from the sidelines. I don’t know if I’ve seen a movie that has such a wide range…
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C
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L
7+/10. The film is hectic but not haphazard, its layers merging revealingly on the level of allusion and autobiography. 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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S
“Each morning I created myself and each night I smiled myself to death.” In a fascistic Gotham City where comedy not sanctioned through proper channels is deemed illicit, a wannabe harlequin explores her trans identity via an underground standup act set to blow her world wide open. Vibrant, eclectic, and filled with heart and humor in equal measure, The People’s Joker is a film any lover of well done pastiche, the Batman, or great queer cinema won’t want to miss.
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N
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A
Sad I watched this at home and not at Pink Flamingo Cinema.
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Y
Jamás pensé que me iba a entretener una comedia satírica sobre la transición de género en una Gotham parodica dónde la comedia es ilegal y está bajo el mando de Batman, con un estilo de animación totalmente psicodelico y fumable. Pero si lo hizo, y valió la pena
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T
Kept me engaged for 30-45 minutes, a deeply personal journey and visually impressive, but then I felt it kind of ran out of steam, and the 2nd half was a bit of a drag. In the list of Best Movies of 2024 according to Mashable.
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O
i think this is the most absurd and artsy film ill watch
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A
I’m not woke enough for this… this is just too white for me 😭
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C
😭❤️
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K
“Don’t forget what happened to the little boy who suddenly got everything he ever wanted; SHE lived happily ever after.” This is the best DC adaptation idc argue with the wall. I have never seen another film that understands the heart and soul of comic books better. One of the very few projects where narration elevates the material rather than drags it down. The warning signs for emotional/psychological abuse!!!!! Vera Drew the woman that you are
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C
Weird, wild, wonderful and funny and dumb and heartfelt. Ugh I loved it.
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L
this is on kanopy so if you have a library card you can watch it for free and you’re lowkey transphobic if you don’t. it’s so heartfelt and funny and beautiful, mixed media at its best. thank you vera and every artist who touched this.
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J
1h30 de reddit humor em sua forma mais pura
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B
wish I’d been on shrooms for this
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M
This was so much fun, I really enjoyed myself! I had watched this originally when it came out in theaters, but that was before I had a letterboxd account. This was a really emotionally touching film, especially as a trans person myself. The relationship joker the harlequin has with her mother is really familiar, especially her attempts to reconcile as well. Blaming an 8 year old for making you feel like a bad mom really struck me to the core.…
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J
tb so h I think my favorite part was the dvd menu. if you stay til the end you get to see her cat
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Mixed media I love you…. mixed media save me…..
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J
It’s even better the second time. I still recall the packed theater of trans and gender non-conforming people when I first saw The People’s Joker at the Cinema Arts Centre on Long Island. Vera Drew’s Zoom appearance at Penelope’s Q&A after the film made me feel like stories like ours are worth telling. It was the first time I’d ever felt a sense of community, a world where trans people really belong. My world has totally changed since I first saw the film, and I couldn’t be happier for it. Thank you, Vera.
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B
masterpiece required reading truly in love with this film
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M
Alternate universe where the joker is trans, ras al ghul is a comedian and sinead o’connor is still alive nothing changes besides that
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2.3/10 Out of all the b movie & parody films I seen This was… interesting to say My dad didn’t liked the movie solely because it wasn’t even about joker Neither did I…
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J
this feels like being trans and opening up an art collage-style photo album when you have a fever of 105 and slipped shrooms into your nyquil what i’m saying is its freaking awesomesauce thank you vera drew areola slip
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B
haha its funny because of my own mom trauma!! 😀
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J
one of my biggest fears is dying of a diarrhea related illness in a russian piss bar
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C
Rare to see something that is made of so many familiar pieces that still feels so intensely individual. Fascinating, very energetic, and both incredibly funny and mostly extremely well acted. I got jump scared by the tiny snippet of Negativland toward the beginning, but, in retrospect, what else could I possibly have expected?
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L
it’s fine. i don’t remember most of my life to be honest
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NNate 8 月 19, 2026
Finally watched this. Extremely impressive. A lot to unpack and tbh i’m exhausted from watching this so I’ll just say that a sardonic take on the state of comedy told through the lens of a queer discovery story is right up my alley. It’s always been fuck Lorne Michaels 🙂
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Ssaffron 8 月 19, 2026
there’s a lot of passion behind this, but this really felt like watching a long youtube video
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E
Acting like a slut, looking like a bitch, acting like a slut while I’m looking like a bitchhhhh
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D
Toda la escenografía me recuerda a un nivel de Max Payne donde llevas a un pinche payaso cargando todo el tiempo
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E
i rlly like how this movie looks
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S
Fun little movie, with some heart
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M
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S
fuck yes
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S
Ridiculous, weird, hilarious, honest, beautiful, deeply grounded, deeply personal. I love the handmade mixed media aspect of everything. Wow. This was absurd and so so cool. Peoples joker 5ever
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I
I respect it although the filmmaking was so aggressively not for me and the story lost me at times with so much so much snl subtext or parody idk yet undoubtedly punk I’m surprised WB hasn’t issued any legal attacks Disney would send the artillery I fear…Protect queer art!!! even if its low budget and not good!!
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OOlmo Giovannini 8 月 19, 2026
I think it’s indicative of a bigger societal phenomenon that all the most daring and interesting directors from the U.S. are transgender women. They all measure themselves with internet aesthetic, with the subversion of cinematic genres, and with the relationship between the viewer and the media. This isn’t as wonderfully crafted as I saw the TV glow, yet it is a politically defiant act of cultural reappropriation, aimed at making “pop culture” truly popular: DC comics and their characters belong…
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J
Esto,,,,, fue,,,,raro de cojones, utilizo el lore de Batman para crear algo nuevo y hablar sobre la comunidad queer… Estuvo mejor que Joker 2… De eso no tengo duda.
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R
“when you’re in love even the most self righteous pop marxist rants sound like poetry” lmao REALLL
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T
nothing i write here will prepare you for this and no words that i find will do a justice to vera drew please go watch this as soon as possible you won’t be disappointed vera drew is such an important voice in the film making world and we are blessed to have her
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S
Yeah that was awesome
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J
wtf did i just watch in the best way possible
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B
I’ll always be incredibly thankful to Vera for including possibly the only depiction of narcissistic soft boy trans guy antics in a T4T relationship
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F
Brilliant. Gives these people a truckload of money and permission to make whatever they want.
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L
Fell asleep halfway through (normal for me), the audio kept waking me up. I liked the production aspect, the writing was meh but I believe in trans people’s right to be mediocre. Also I recognize that making a feature length film is no small feat so I wanna give props to that aspect, but also I kept asking myself “how the hell did they make this into a feature length???”
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D
It’s a very flawed movie. But there’s just SO MUCH passion put into it, from its chaotic visuals, to its very personal story. At times it feels like a super queer Elseworlds story, and it’s clear that Vera Drew has genuine respect for the Batman mythos. Twas a nice surprise.
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A
If Tim and Eric made a Joker movie
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J
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M
This is so fun. Abolish copyright so more people can make stuff like this.
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A
The audacity of this bitch. I love every use of animation of every type and the miniatures and just using every trick in this book to put this thing into the world. I’m so glad this exists and the library let me watch it. I wanna say it’s cringe but in the most affectionate and complimentary way possible. Vera Drew puts everything out there 100% and that’s the kind of earnest art shit I wanna seeeeeee
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C
7.8 too much zack snyder
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A
This movie gets a lot of things right, one of them being that Rick Moranis is a national treasure
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E
My feelings haven’t changed, so: [my review from last year]
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J
A trans coming-of-age story filtered through a Batman obsession and what I have to imagine are a lot of late nights mainlining whatever was on Cartoon Network and Comedy Central at 1am plus the internet circa 2005. I’m here for it!
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AAz 8 月 17, 2026
A quite earnest movie. I was expecting a shit post, and ended up far more endeared than I anticipated
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H
Can’t believe I’ve had this loser in my life a full year, I love my friends (:
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C
Sinceramente, no tengo palabras para describir esta película. Es simplemente una de las cosas más imaginativas y originales que he visto en mucho tiempo, teniendo un estilo visual más que único, contando con diferentes maneras de contar su historia, desde segmentos animados, stop motion y animación 3D. Neta, no sé cómo pudieron hacer una película tan visualmente creativa en todo aspecto. Genuinamente, pienso que esta película es mejor que toda la mierda que hizo Todd Phillips con el personaje, y no solo me refiero a Joker 2. Y es increíble que la hicieran únicamente por amor al arte, sin permiso de Warner.
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VViv 8 月 17, 2026
You know what hell yeah
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V
“Yeah, you look like somebody who cares what the government says.” How long did it take her to smile? ===== SPOILERS Rare movie with a literal deus-ex-machina ending. But the movie was well past playing with house money at that point.
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L
It’s actually astounding how much this surpasses that other joker movie in everything it tried to do. It’s so much more Batman, more about comedy, more about mental health, more about society’s treatment of outcasts. Is it more of a collaborative art project than a movie? Idk isn’t that what a movie is ultimately? Whatever just see it cuz it’s brilliant!
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F
Walkin like a slut Actin like a bitch
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A
Tim and Eric’s One Billion Dollar The Dark Knight Smiles Back with Vera Drew: Great Job! The Movie I haven’t seen I Saw the TV Glow yet but as of right now, this is probably the weirdest but BEST trans allegory put to film so far! It was whacky, honest, a little cringey here and there, and super heartfelt! Vera Drew is a real talent! Also- LOVED David Liebe Hart!!!
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T
The peoples joker kept saying shit that was spot on in the same words I would’ve/have used
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R
The background animation is so good. Suicide Cop is a great bit.
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L
Lovely and so cool. Awesome how many actors came out to support this brilliant independent movie.
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LLandzico 8 月 16, 2026
有没有人懂new diverse cast出现柴科的喷饭感…
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Don’t you see, Bruce? We’re the jokers of the… daughters… we’re the daughters of the jokers you couldn’t burn? Get it? Absolutely fantastic. Hilarious. It really feels like this movie was tailor-made for me. Lots of stupid little gags. I would’ve loved to have seen this in theaters, but watching at home affords the opportunity to pause and see split-second jokes, like the title for the Joker outfit on Amazon and things like that, or the awesome TV gags like…
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N
Was moderately and pleasantly amused throughout until the last 30 seconds or so cut me down into tears. Excellent
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I
Yeah idk
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N
This might be perfect, actually. So sincerely and earnestly creative that it’s nauseating
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T
Made with love and honesty and a razor blade
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K
Such a weird and personal experimental comedy movie that isn’t really about any DC property but is about one woman’s trans experience. Bonus points for Scott Auckerman as Mister Freeze
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F
I love trans people I love art I love The People’s Joker
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J
Someday a young person is gunna watch this and it’s gunna be the single most important piece of media they’ve ever seen and that’s wonderful
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D
Big old middle finger to the corpos, big whole heart and then some to the trans community. Quite possibly the ideal of transgressive art. Or at least, the ideal of what it’s striving for, which fucking rules by the way.
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M
I love Suicide Cop 👮♀️
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M
This was fine, I guess. It just felt kinda lazy. Like what’s left here once you strip away all the IP it’s using?
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L
A surrealist masterpiece mixed with batman iconography and a trans coming of age plot. Genuinely what could possibly make it a better movie. Random pop culture references, flashing scenes of the characters getting high as escapism, while still managing to tie in serious themes on toxic relationships and the struggles people face when trying to find themselves in a world that hates anything that’s different. This movie is now going to the top of my recommendation list for literally everyone. Go watch it. Now.
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P
not my thing but had lots of fun watching it. vera drew seems cool af
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Eein_f 8 月 15, 2026
So much credit to Vera for this. A piece of its own.
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D
bastante divertido y campy me gustó 🙂
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F
I think all movies should have a line shit-talking Frank Miller, actually.
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K
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S
it did take pretty far into the runtime for me to adjust to the visual style they’re going for here, but the story won me over fully. i love parodies that actually have something to stay and i love all the connections between other forms of jokers/clowns they have (snl, clownfish, etc) like that’s poetry
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F
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E
what a fever dream. while the low budget is glaringly obvious, this movie has a lot of heart. it’s cool that this was able to get made.
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J
Great first half but I didn’t translate through it all….
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A
brave enough to answer the question: what if Jason Todd was transmasc and also toxic
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D
Brilliant and bold kaleidoscopically creative purple popcorn pizza delights with a humorous homemade-blockbuster bonanza. So much going on from so many different artists, it’s clearly a film that will reward multiple viewings. Unfortunately a bit heavy handed w lots of voiceover and talking into the camera. This is really unnecessary given that most are overly familiar with the source material and the target audience likely having some familiarity with trans/gay-ness. Like we are kinda getting stuck in a comment section…
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K
This was really well made and fascinating despite the fact that there was a lot I didn’t fully understand. The film has such a maturely confident and unique perspective. I was not prepared for the “Batman is a pedophile” truther detour, though 😬
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J
Died and went straight to the fifth dimension when the Say Anything joke came around
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O
Holy Cinema Batguin! This movie’s most certainly an “Aquatic” taste, and I’m lucky to have it. Hodge-podge heartwarmer (and hurter!!). Everything from everyone really simplifies down to the wish to have a good memory.
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I’m just like The Joker because I bring people together.
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J
She had an Acid Bath poster on her wall… as a ten-year-old… and her mother was 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 to hear she was miserable… alright buddy
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K
No but like this WILL be studied in film school. The fact this movie was made and included so many amazing artists and was filmed and edited and shit all during covid is just madness!! I want more indie creators fucking major studios and making these type of movies. Give me more!!
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H
absolutely ridiculous and self aware but the only way I want to see Jared Letos joker portrayed again. also reinforces my fear of stand up comedian boyfriends.
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B
Great movie about when you’re finally reckognized enough to give your friends jobs
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I had no idea what to expect other than a Joker (2019) parody. I hope my first film will look something like this. Always great to see so many artists being showcased (probably friends of the creator ?). I thematically resonated with this film (regarding the relation between transness and performative arts) and I’m glad it exists. A tad too millenial humour for my taste (erm yup THAT just happened). As @bigobou said after we saw it, it’s a real…
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B
Bcp de tendresse pour ce film mais objectivement pas ma came J’aime vraiment bcp le film low budget, acting maladroit et sincère
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C
El tono DIY en los momentos didácticos y cómo hilan y atan el peso emocional en una Gotham que escribiría Terry Gilliam tras una crisis hipertensa y su sabor adictivo amargo se me hace bola al pasar por un CGI raruno y un centro melodramático coming-of-age que me devuelven a algo conocido y no muy celebrado
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ÁÁine :) 8 月 9, 2026
A staple of its time in the best way it could be, I think. The thing about this movie is that it doesn’t really force itself to be any one thing, which is where its strengths lie. The kind of decentralized nature of its production is given full reign to bleed through into the film in all aspects, the storytelling methods, the shots, the different mediums, etc. Really, beyond being a really stellar queer film, it’s also just, so wholly unique. I’ve never really seen anything like it.
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L
“I’M SUPER SANE!!!” Outrageously funny. Beautifully, recklessly authentic. Baring teeth and bitingly clever — shameless, unhinged, joyful, lucid madness. Ardently unpretentious, huge Trickster Spirit energy. Drawing “The Magician” + “The Tower” in movie form. Trans 🏳️⚧️ cinematic graffiti belligerently and gleefully spattered across normative media. The chaotic amalgamation of mediums and animation styles is such a brilliantly pioneering and revolutionary way to transcend budget limitations. Vera Drew doesn’t just lean into her low budget, she plunges wickedly and unabashedly into…
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- Synopsis
- An aspiring clown grappling with her gender identity combats a fascistic caped crusader.
- Director
- Vera Drew
- Writer
- Bri LeRose, Vera Drew
- Studio
- Haunted Gay Ride Productions
- Country
- USA
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2022
- Runtime
- 92 mins
- Canada13 Sep 2022
- Australia22 Apr 2023
- Australia11 Nov 2023
- Australia24 Feb 2024
- New Zealand09 Aug 2024
- Australia04 Oct 2024
- Taiwan20 Oct 2024
- USA05 Apr 2024
- Canada12 Apr 2024
- USA19 Apr 2024
- Australia14 Nov 2024
- UK21 Feb 2025
- USA30 Jul 2024
- Australia04 Dec 2024
- USA13 Aug 2024
- USA11 Feb 2026
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