The story of the humans behind the costumes is subtly exposed in Matt Ogens documentary about people who make money on the streets of Hollywood Boulevard as they try to find more glamorous roles in the entertainment industry. Profiling a few individuals, Ogens creates a touching view of people who are willing to persevere against dismal odds for a chance at success and celebrity. With news clips, stills, and interviews of the street artists and their families, the viewer is given a look at the brutal reality that these folks try to hide from in their various costumes.
Tourists Visiting Hollywood May Meet Celebrity Look-Alikes Trolling for a Photo Fee
Visitors to Hollywood may find themselves suddenly being approached by a celebrity of yesteryear, or an adult dressed up like Batman, the Hulk,or Superman. For a few dollars in tips, the superheroes will allow you to take a photo with them. Most accept that not everyone understand tipping is involved, but a few get aggressive with the tourists, causing the police to patrol undercover to keeps things peaceful. A Superman who smokes? A Batman who assaults? It is all part of the Hollywood street scene. Ogens' film, though, is really about the human beings who use their costume facade to cover a missing part of their lives, whether it was an absent parent, the longing to leave small town America, or years of bottled up anger.
Confessions of a Superhero Exposes the Reality Behind the Mask
Wonder Woman (Jennifer Gehrt) is a young woman from Maynardsville, Tennessee, who is trying to be discovered as an actress. With the disincentive of sinking into obscurity in her small town, Jennie, named after a female donkey, works the streets between acting interviews. The Hulk (Joe McQueen), a young man who was homeless for four years, appreciates the bit parts he gets while working in a very hot costume (130 degrees) in the Southern California sun. Batman (Maxwell Allen), a George Clooney look-alike, who says he has a problem with anger and gets irritated with non-paying tourists at times, meets with a psychiatrist.
Is he living a difficult life or a fiction he himself created? Superman, who claims to be the son of actress Sandy Dennis, lives and breathes Supermania, enters contests, and finally marries the woman he encourages to look like Crystal Gayle. Christopher Dennis openly discusses his miserable childhood, growing up in group homes as his mother pursued her acting career and he tried desperately to get her attention. In Ogen's film, no one is quite who they seem to be. But there is a pathos of people trying to live in a cartoon world where a celebrity autograph is paramount and a superhero lookalike contest seems beneath their adult years. Surprisingly moving and entertaining.
- 93 minutes
- Red Envelope Entertainment
- Rated R
- Movie site
Barbara DeGrande - Barbara DeGrande is a writer, film critic, and blogger, with years of experience as a program developer. She has a Bachelor of Arts in ...
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