We Are Pat

In the 1990s, Saturday Night Live turned gender nonconformity into a punchline with the recurring “It’s Pat” sketch. Created and portrayed by Julia Sweeney, the character’s ambiguous gender identity was such a hit that it was turned into a movie cowritten by Sweeney (after a rejected first draft by Quentin Tarantino) and featured a musical cameo by Ween. The hilarious and moving We Are Pat is an interrogation of the outdated and problematic (yet still meaningful) gender representations of the past. Director Rowan Haber grew up obsessed and transfixed by the character and, in exploring that personal history for the film, came up with the ultimate challenge for a group of today’s best trans comedians (including Murray Hill, Girl God, James Tom, and Roz Hernandez): create a new “It’s Pat” sketch in the year 2025! Featuring Julia Sweeney, Brontez Purnell, JD Samson, Kevin Nealon, Molly Kearney, and executive producers Alan Cumming and Lilly Wachowski. (86 mins., DCP)

See the entire Pride: A Celebration of Queer Movies lineup.

IMAGE CAPTION
We Are Pat, courtesy of Film Collaborative.