“Confessions of a Superhero” Review

I was home from work, semi-sick, and upon perusal of the Netflix streaming offerings on my Xbox, I came across this documentary. Being as entrenched in comics as I consider myself to be, I was sort of ashamed that I hadn’t heard of this movie before.

(Minor spoilers ahead, though it IS a documentary…)

Debuting in 2007, director Matthew Ogens opens viewers up to the world of individuals who dress in character and “work on tips” in front of Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The film follows four people who dress as The Hulk, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman and we get an inside look at their climb to fame. For the street work is merely a stepping stone for them, or so they hope. The people themselves are quite intriguing, each having their own rags to riches type stories.

Wonder Woman came from a podunk Middle America town and always knew she could be much more than a small town cheerleader. She went to LA and never looked back. Hulk, also a country boy, got to Hollywood right around the time of the Rodney King riots and said that he was terrified. He spent four years being homeless until he happened upon some small work and then ended up on the Walk of Fame with the rest of the characters. Batman, looking eerily similar to George Clooney, had little luck with acting gigs due to his look-alike status and began his interest in Batman in the late 80s before taking on the Batman persona and following in the footsteps of Christopher Dennis, the Walk of Fame Superman.

The film mainly focuses on Chris, because – as we learn – he seems to be the one who forefronted it all, and is the most dedicated to the show. When Chris is in costume, in his mind, he IS Superman. He and his fiance collect memorablia of all types, including signatures from the Superman movies and action figures; their apartment is floor to ceiling plastered in this stuff!

One thing that really stayed with me after the viewing was that he mentioned early on that he wanted to get into the business because his mother was an actress. In the middle of the film, he tells us that his mom was Sandy Dennis and rattles off some of her movies (The Out of Towners, Who’s Afraid of Vriginia Woolf; one of my personal favorites). The irksome thing is that they interview other members of Dennis’ family and they claim that she never had a son. So his lineage has neither been confirmed nor denied.

Another cool thing the movie did was it looked at how diverse and messed up these people are, in their relationships, in their strife for an acting career, and to climb the ladder in Hollywood. I liked the personal aspect of looking into their home lives. Batman, it turns out, has severe rage issues and a dark and sordid past. Wonder Woman got married to a guy after only knowing him 2 weeks – at a Chapel in Vegas! – and is having marital strife. We get a really in-depth look at the psyche of people who will do anything it takes to make it big, even if it means baking at 135 degrees inside an Incredible Hulk costume in Summertime California.

I enjoyed watching this documentary, maybe more than I thought I would or should. It reminded me of how superheros and their personas can take on many aspects and connote different thing. They have infused themselves inot American culture so much and this film conveys that to its viewers in a sophisticated and fascinating way.