Confessions of a Superhero

Directed by Matthew Ogens, this documentary follows four superhero costume performers in Hollywood, CA. Before I watched it, I imagined it taking the fun and cheesy route, focusing on the fun and playfulness associated with superhero and character culture, and getting to meet and know the people behind the outfits. While we did get to know the people, it was anything but kitschy or silly. The four main characters perform as Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and the Incredible Hulk. It starts fairly light-heartedly, learning about the profession in general from the characters, the street police, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, etc. The most interesting things that I learned are 1) How the officials and performers view the 'job' as being "ambassadors to the community". 2) The laws and rules that have been created to deal with the large community and success of the impersonation business. I don't respect it less than I did before seeing the film, but it really is a glorified version of panhandling, which I find very interesting.

The movie became a very personal look into the lives of all of the main characters, and I really liked all the different ways that the director went about revealing the people behind the masks. Besides filming them on the street, there was gorgeous still photography throughout capturing some of their most human emotions and the hardships of the job.
Often times I am not a fan of still photos, because I feel like it can sometimes hurt the momentum of a piece, but the photos here were stunning and played against the idea of all the tourists capturing photos of them in character. There was also home video of Wonder Woman as a child, in high school, and even her spontaneous trip to Vegas to get married. This footage made you empathize with her completely, and was so relatable that I started getting concerned, like I too could end up in a costume on Hollywood Blvd, because nothing from her past experiences necessarily led directly to this. The doc used footage from a film Superman's mother was in, and also clips from movies and shows the characters had been in. To see such a range of genre and quality added to their likeability and the hardhips the characters face. The filmmaker interviewed characters' parents, significant others, went into their homes, and even went to the spot of pavement on which the Hulk used to sleep at night when he was homeless.

My favorite component were the individual sitdown interviews with each of the characters. Talking heads are typically the least fun thing in doc making, but each setting was different, dynamic, and incredibly appropriate for the character and their lives. Each setting was beautifully framed and shot, and all indoors, like we were finally getting them in off the street and getting to listen to their secrets in private. Personal and portrait documentaries are my favorite by far, and I was really inspired by this movie in the sense that it is a good example that there are never too many ways to learn about someone or too many places to find their stories. I really liked and recommend this documentary.