The People's Joker was one of those movies that might have carried over two years. Or maybe I removed it from when I probably would have first heard about it back in 2022, and then added it back when it materialized again -- in a limited manner of speaking -- earlier this year. In any case, it started on there a long time ago.
Knowing that Vera Drew's guerilla film, in which she views her own trans coming of age through the prism of trademark-protected Batman characters, would likely be sued out of existence, I always thought of it as a weird little curiosity that might never see the light of day. That might be why I removed it the first time, probably at the start of 2023 when I reloaded for that year.
But then earlier this year, the movie reared its head in a discussion on Filmspotting, where both hosts had high praise for it, I think both eventually including it in their top five movies of the year so far, which they released back in June.
While they were discussing it, though, I got a sense of its scarcity. They touched on the film's legal issues only slightly, but they mentioned they had to go to some obscure location to see it -- like not even the craziest arthouse cinema in their home city of Chicago, but rather, some out-of-the-way theater in some small town in Wisconsin you've never heard of. And even then it was only playing a few select dates as part of a very limited run, like maybe once on one weekend and then again two weekends later.
And again I thought to myself: "I'm never seeing this movie."
Lo and behold, I was checking out Cinema Nova's offerings for the post I wrote on Wednesday about The Substance, and wouldn't you know it? The People's Joker was playing once each day at 4:20. (A cheeky drug reference, that, though the movie only talks about the imaginary drug Smylex, and doesn't fit the traditional description of a stoner flick.) And it might have only just started this week, because the Wednesday night show was at 8:30, followed by those daily 4:20 screenings -- which gave that showing the sense of that single premiere session theaters sometimes show, usually on the night before the general release.
So immediately I started figuring out how on Thursday, a day I go into the office, I could end my day a bit early and hightail it over to Carlton to Cinema Nova in time for that 4:20 show. I'd be in the right part of town to pull it off, though I might need to catch an Uber.
It wouldn't necessarily be a great look with my family, since my various trips to the theater recently have sometimes caused trouble -- I got the start time wrong for Wicked on Sunday morning, for example, meaning I didn't make it home until nearly 2:30 in the afternoon, well into our traditional project time. But I thought "This might be my only chance to see The People's Joker, and if it's only playing at 4:20, then that's when I have to go."
But then I checked on U.S. iTunes and it's already available for rental for $4.99.
So in the space of about 24 hours, I went from thinking I might never see the movie to watching it in my own living room.
And what a fortuitous turn of events it was.
For the third time in the past five days, I have seen a movie that becomes an immediate contender for my top ten of the year, after Wicked and The Coffee Table. I better slow down or all the movies that were previously in my top ten might find themselves on the outside looking in.
I say pretty much what I want to say about The People's Joker in my review, so instead of rehashing myself, I'll just link to it here.
I don't think I am in danger of a fourth tonight, though, as I finally sit down for the slightly thematically similar The Crow. I love the original of that film, of course, but I have not heard great things about this all-time box office flop ... except from one guy who thought it was decent, so who knows.
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