Review of Confessions of a Superhero (2007) by Frank P — 25 Jul 2011

"We do work for tips".

I really didn't expect to like Confessions of a Superhero but the question of why anyone would want to dress up like a superhero and walk around a street really sucked me in. The film looks at four specific people. The characters they portray are Superman, Batman, The Hulk and Wonderwoman. All of them came to LA in order to try to be successful actors. None of them have quite made it, so they continue to walk the Boulevard, taking pictures with tourist for little to no money.

The film is interesting, sad and funny. Each person has their own unique backstory which really make for an interesting documentary. The most interesting backstory is that of Superman. He claims to be the son of Sandy Dennis; a famous actress who won an Oscar for her supporting role in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf." The controversy is that Sandy never told her family she had a son and the Dennis family claims he's not Sandy's son. Batman also has a unique story that is hard to believe, but hey you never know. He claims to be somewhat of a "gangster." Sort of in the area of The Godfather. The Hulks and Wonderwoman's backstories aren't quite as interesting, but they are the likable ones. Superman and Batman just came off as complete freaks. The Hulks story is pretty sad and Wonderwoman's story is pretty generic; young girl wants to be actress, so she moves to LA.

When the movie is funny, it's also a little sad too. Most of the time it's funny when Superman is onscreen. This guy is completely immersed in Superman and it's a little sickening. Overall it's a very entertaining documentary. The hour and a half flew by and I was actually surprised when the credits started to roll. It felt like I just started watching.