Confessions Of A Superhero

Rating: out of
Released: 2007
Directed by: Matthew Ogens
Cast: Documentary

In the past few years, there have been several excellent documentaries in the same sort of genre, call them the “extreme fandom” films. There was TREKKIES, following Star Trek fans, and CINEMANIA, about obsessive New York filmgoers. AMERICAN MOVIE might also fit into that genre. Each of these has been a fascinating portrayal of people who, I guess you can say, take their fandom a bit too far.

Now, to add to the list, and almost at the same level is CONFESSIONS OF A SUPER HERO. This documentary is about the assorted people who dress as superheroes on Hollywood Boulevard. There, they pose for photographs with tourists, for tips, and hope to become famous in the process.

Meet Chris. He plays Superman. I guess you can say he is the sort of father figure to the group as he has been doing it the longest and takes it the most seriously. He has essentially turned his home into a Superman museum, with over a million dollars (by his estimate) worth of memorabilia.

Jennifer is Wonder Woman. Not as obsessed as the others, she looks at her dressing up as more of a stepping-stone to her acting career. She is from a small town in Tennessee where her father is a minister, and she was a cheerleader and homecoming queen.

Joe plays the Hulk. He is also a struggling actor. But he has also come the furthest. In the film, he takes the crew to an alley where just a few years before he was living as a homeless person.

Then there is Max, or Maximus. He plays Batman, and is a George Clooney lookalike. He also has serious anger management issues, with a violent past that I’ll leave the film to go into.

Director Matt Ogens does an amazing job with the film. Each of these characters is much more than they appear to be. I won’t give anything away, but the twists and turns these stories take is pretty remarkable.

The one problem with the film is that as it ends, there are still a couple big questions that are left unanswered. But then again, that is kind of the point. Each of these people is trying to build themselves up into something they may or may not be. Why have the film ruin it for them?

The DVD contains several deleted scenes running probably over half an hour. One story about Superman and his girlfriend talking about their first date runs 15 minutes. It is one of the first DVDs where I watched them all. And then, I wanted more!! These characters are so interesting, I didn’t want it to end.

On another DVD extra, film critic Robert Wilonsky (frequently a substitute for Roger Ebert on EBERT AND ROEPER) calls CONFESSIONS OF A SUPER HERO one of the best films of 2007. I think he may be right.

Reviewed by: Jim Magovern

Jan 26,2008