Confessions of a Superhero

Reviewer: Dylan de Thomas
Rating (out of 5): ***

The “quirky” documentary has had a long history of sad subjects with goofy, yellow-colored posters, the marketing departments correctly assuming that people would rather laugh than squirm at unflinching looks at humanity. So filmmakers have mined deeply the vein of odd folks at the fringes of society, and this film is no different.

The characters of Matt Ogens' Confessions of a Superhero (produced and introduced by Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock) come from the same funny/sad dichotomy as the denizens of American Movie, Grey Gardens or even Errol Morris' folk from Vernon, Florida and Gates of Heaven. It's the kind of movie where, at first blush, the viewer is supposed to think “Freaks,” before softening near the end and learning something about society and themselves. Or at least that's the hope.

Confessions chronicles the lives of four “Characters” - people who walk the street on Hollywood Boulevard in front of Graumann's Chinese Theater dressed as superheroes panhandling the tourists by posing with them for snapshots. The characters call the cash exchanges “tips,” and look for the big break to come in their days not dressed as a cartoon character.

We meet and get to know Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Hulk and their real-life alter egos while they go to about the sometimes grim business of their lives. The filmmakers have real empathy for these characters, though they are hard-pressed to pass that feeling along to the viewer. Instead, the film is relentless in its long looks at their piteous existences.

Awkward, seemingly staged scenes peek up through the movie, such as Batman going to therapy in costume and making claims of ultra-violence feel pressed for the sake of the camera. A couple of on-screen weddings seemed both doomed and purely attention-seeking.

There are moments of levity, however, including seeing the Hulk tell weeping children to not be afraid of his hideous visage or one randy photo-taker cupping her hand on Superman's parts. Unfortunately, the melancholy score undercuts most of these good times, cutting instead to another grim reminder of these “real” people.

The film is beautifully shot, intercut with photos of the characters, which were later chosen as 2007 Images of the Year by American Photo magazine. Just don't be fooled by any claims of an eccentric good time.