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"A Joker's Card" is possibly one of the more ambitious DC fan films I've
come across in years. As a comic geek, I've admittedly seen very little
fan films, but this one was surprisingly good. I wasn't expecting much
in terms of quality, but director Wu takes what he has and turns it in
to a very colorful off-beat fan film that spoofs Batman's rogues
gallery. Imagine the villains and heroes off-spring attempting to create
their own crimes and chaos. Dick Grayson's son Nick has a bondage
fetish, the Joker's and Mr. Freeze's sons are working together to kill
Gotham's off-spring of heroes to inflict their own crimes but are met
with obstacles when Wonder Woman's daughter decides to save the day. I
was just laughing my ass from beginning to end because while it is a fan
film, it's intention is to charmingly spoof the Batman lore and it pulls
it off well.
Harley Quinn's daughter (Dana
Aritonavich) is a sexy doctor who works with Fries whose kidnapped Nick.
And the Joker's son Jonathan Napier, played by scene stealer Kyle
Znamenak, is a geek whose ambition is to follow in his father's
footsteps... if only he could get some respect, and stop being beaten up
at school. Znamenak is utterly hilarious and the crew leave no stones
unturned in this spoof from the old Adam West Batman, to the modern
lore, the makers have at it. Most of the comedy comes mostly from
Znamenak who is utterly hilarious here and appropriately over the top.
His facial expressions really made me
imagine that the Joker would have a son that looked like him. David J.
Levy plays straight man well to Znamenak and on parade are the clever
spoofs of the Batman Universe. Wonder Woman's less than shapely daughter
is still getting a grasp on her powers, and there's a surprise
appearance by a character from the Batman Universe. All the while
there's a sense of chaos that drips from the screen that make this even
more screwball and I was satisfied in the end. Fans of the Batman world
will appreciate the joke as I did, and it left me wanting more in the
end.
As for the comedy, the timing is off during much of the film, including
from the supporting cast whom never really commit to their lines. The
acting all around was always iffy, especially from the character Nick,
and Vincent Fries who never really look like their committing to their
lines, and often their acting is very wooden.
Though it does have its flaws, fans of the Batman universe should find
it best to keep an open-mind to a clever and very witty spoof that
doesn't even take itself seriously. With brisk directing, hilarious
comedy, and very clever spoofing, this is a very enjoyable tongue in
cheek parody of the Batman comics.

- For information on
"A Joker's Card", and how to buy it, visit:
http://www.mdifilm.com/joker/
- Filmed with less
than 6,000 dollars.
- Received a 26th
Annual Telly Awards under the category of non-broadcast film/video
productions for best entertainment DVD/CD set.
- The film was shot
with a mix of digital cameras and a 16mm film camera.
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