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Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Confessions of a Superhero
I was pleasantly surprised to see Steve Fritz's article on Confessions of a Superhero on Newsarama today. The reason why is that I had just seen the film a few days ago on Netflix's "Watch Instantly" program. Growing up near Los Angeles I knew of the phenomenon where people would walk around Hollywood Blvd. dressed up as Superman, Spider-Man etc. and take photographs with tourists for tips. I always thought someone should make a documentary about those people. Now someone has and what they find out is pretty interesting albeit depressing.
When I started watching the film I thought I was in for a good laugh with some quirky characters. Early on there are some great moments. Joe McQueen says about his portrayal of The Hulk "People tell me 'The Hulk's not black." I tell them that in Hollywood he is!" Later Christopher Lloyd Dennis, who takes his role of Superman very seriously, lectures a new superhero on the scene, Ghost Rider, on the proper way to conduct oneself. A superhero must never smoke in public. The kid tells Supes "Ghost Rider can smoke in public, he's made of fire!" Superman will have none of it.
The film isn't filled with scenes like those. It spends most of its time exploring the people behind the tights and capes. Two of the performers, McQueen as The Hulk and Jennifer Gehrt as Wonder Woman, don't seem different than the thousand of other struggling actors in Hollywood. Instead of working in restaurants or office buildings until they hit it big they decided to get some exposure as costumed characters on the walk of fame. Gehrt's story is almost too much of a cliche. She was prom queen in the little Southern town she grew up in and then came out to Hollywood to make it as a star. Now she's going from audition to audition to get her first big break. She and McQueen are both likable but their stories aren't anything new.
It's Dennis as Superman and Maxwell Allen as Batman that steal the film. Dennis has to be the biggest Superman fan in existence. We see his apartment in the film and there doesn't to be a square inch that isn't occupied by some piece of Superman merchandise. He goes to Metropolis, Illinois every year for their Superman festival. He even has dinner with Margot Kidder. It sometimes appears that he really does believe he's Superman and being so will grant him fame and fortune. Unlike Gehrt or McQueen this isn't something to do while he tries to develop an acting career. He has some work as an actor but this is where it's at for him. Walking around with a red cape flowing behind him seems to be when Dennis is at his happiest.
Allen is the saddest figure in the film. If Batman was real it would be this guy. I assure you, that's not a good thing. He has a shady past where he apparently was a "bodyguard" for a Texas mobster. There is a staggering scene where Allen is confessing to his psychiatrist, who I believe Allen is required to see by court order, how his rage took a hold of him so bad he once killed a man. Allen is saying all this while he's wearing his Batman costume.
For Allen and Dennis this odd notoriety is the center of their lives. It keeps Allen from slipping into his old ways, although that didn't turn out to be much of a success. For Dennis it's his chance to make his reality a little more, well, super than what the rest of us have. It's fascinating but in a bit of a sad way. If you're ready for something like that I saw give Confessions a rent.
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