2007 documentaryRating: 15/20
Plot: The ups and downs of the lives of four people who dress up as superheroes and walk Hollywood Boulevard to pose for pictures with tourists and collect tips.
Nice objective look at four interesting and, for the most part, likable individuals. There's thankfully no narration, but there is some questionable editing. You get to meet Superman (see poster), a guy who kind of looks like Christopher Reeve, has noticeable sweat stains in the armpit of his suit, makes dioramas in his spare time, and has an obsession with Crystal Gayle. His story takes him (the year hero Reeve dies) to a Superman Festival in Metropolis, a town with lots of crime according to one resident because lots of black people have moved in. He enters a Superhero look-a-like contest and has a nice surprise up his sleeve. His appraisal of his Superman memorabilia collection? Over a million dollars! You get to meet the Hulk, a black wanna-be actor who finally gets his big break in a kung-fu spoof of Game of Death called Finishing the Game, a guy who worries that his bad teeth could keep him from reaching his acting aspirations and who feels like a loser. He wears a mask with a mouth in a perpetual scream that made me laugh. You get to meet the girl-next-door former high school cheerleader and prom queen with some self-esteem issues who made her way to Hollywood to become an actress but wound up as Wonder Woman instead. She's got an agent, she has some auditions, and we see enough of her to think that she might actually have a shot. And then there's Batman, a guy with some serious issues that need to be addressed before he kills a bunch of people. Again, according to him. He's a delusional Batman with a checkered past, a guy who seems to lie quite a bit. At least that's what the Hulk thinks. Batman also says several times that he looks like George Clooney, something that gives him hope that he'll eventually make it. I guess he might from certain angles to a person with severe vision problems. They're essentially panhandlers, but they're lovable panhandlers. Happy in what most sensible people would call their delusions, these underdogs are really easy to like and root for. I can't believe how much I cared about Superman's look-a-like contest, but I really really wanted him to win that thousand bucks. I love a scene where Superman is dumping wads of cash out of his underpants following the arrest of Elmo. (That sentence doesn't seem like it makes complete sense.) There's also footage of a music video that he appears in with a little person. There's lots of great, funny footage, but they're almost moments you feel bad for thinking are funny because you really do feel for these people. Well, maybe not Batman. He just needs some help. Lots to learn in this one though. Superman tells us that Ghostrider doesn't smoke, and we know he's right even when Ghostrider tells him, "I'm made of fire!" Marilyn Monroe informs us that "Orientals" are cheap. We learn that Mr. Incredible and Elmo are a bit too aggressive with tourists. Good stuff.
3 comments:
Odd timing be damned, I watched that this weekend as well. (Hulu, I'm guessing?)
You are spot on about rooting for them. Superman Chris says he will not smoke in costume. Superman at least lives the part. As a smoker, I will give him that. (And for the record, I have a Ghost Rider issue in which he smokes. Granted it was the 90's Ghost Rider, Danny Ketch, and not Johnny Blaze, but anyway).
They did kind of tease you by making you root for them, and break them apart. Like we should be surprised that they are crazy.
I like my documentries like I like my term papers. State a thesis and prove it. This could have been about 20 min shorter for me, but overall the pacing was good.
15/20 is my score as well. Had it focused on Marvel heroes, I would have gone to 16/20.
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are commonly called "The Trinity" of DC comics. They could have left Hulk out of it all together for me. I don't like mixing my Marvel and DC.
I was wondering if you'd seen this one!
I had taped this from Sundance or IFC a long time ago and just got around to watching it. I don't have the comic book background, but does the Incredible Hulk's face always look like that? I thought that was hilarious, especially since the guy wearing that mask was, at least at the beginning, so disappointed with his life.
Don't know about you, but I thought Wonder Woman was cute.
Oh, yeah. She was cute. Her audition was not bad, either.
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