“Tonight’s Forecast, A Freeze Is Coming”

Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O’Donnell) face two new challenging villains. They are Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who is building a weapon to ransom Gotham for money to find a cure for his terminally ill wife, and Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) who seeks to punish humanity for its environmental destruction. Meanwhile, Robin feels like Batman doesn’t trust him. Their faithful butler Alfred (Michael Gough) is slowly dying. And Alfred’s niece Barbara (Alicia Silverstone) is poking around Wayne Manor. Will the Bat-family survive?

“If I Must Suffer, Humanity Will Suffer With Me”

One of Batman and Robin’s biggest problems is that the film has numerous plotlines competing for screentime and many of their tones clash greatly. One minute we are indulging in silly slapstick action and ice puns, then we are suddenly dealing with a long-time Bat-family member gradually losing their life. Furthermore, because of the bloated story, several plotlines feel underdeveloped (Batgirl’s subplot) or pointless (Bane’s inclusion).

As well as this some of the film’s components feel very slapdash and can take you out of the experience. This includes the writing plot holes. For example, Mr. Freeze using a machine powered by huge diamonds to ransom Gotham rather than selling the diamonds on the black market. Which would probably be just as profitable. Along with this some of the CGI has aged incredibly poorly. The human figures move very unnaturally and a few sequences look barely finished.

And of course, there is the grating cheesy dialogue and the performances from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O’Donnell, and Alicia Silverstone which range from bland to irritating to hilariously misjudged.

“You Lie”

Unfortunately, a lot of good-faith criticism of Batman and Robin is lost among complaints about its deviation from the darkness of Tim Burton’s Batman films and Batman and Robin’s suits having nipples and rubber bums. You can prefer the Tim Burton films over Batman and Robin. But, a lighter tone doesn’t necessarily make a film bad. And complaining about something as harmless as Bat-bums/nipples feels petty and slightly homophobic through its ridicule of something potentially appealing to a gay audience. It’s therefore regrettable that these complaints are what largely stuck with the film.

“That Is The Nature Of Family”

However, Batman and Robin does have genuinely praiseworthy elements. Firstly, there is Elliot Goldenthal’s music. Full of bombastic epic sweeps and sultry seduction. It makes the film feel exciting throughout and is a fine listen.

Then there are the undervalued performances by George Clooney, Uma Thurman, and Michael Gough. Clooney perfectly fits the role of playboy Bruce Wayne. He also adds a sly self-awareness to his Batman which makes him an enjoyable presence. Additionally, this allows him to get away with his cheeky humour more than other cast members. Uma Thurman is an absolute blast as Poison Ivy. She really embodies Ivy’s seductive and bold nature and every time she appears her energy makes it impossible to look away. That said Michael Gough is the film’s true star. Effortlessly humorous and heartfelt, his interactions with the Bat-family, particularly Clooney, add real dramatic weight to proceedings. Truthfully his storyline is worth the watch alone.

Finally, the cheesy dialogue, flimsy plot, varying acting quality, tonally mismatched story elements, loud colours, wild theatrical costumes, and other elements combine well to create a fun, campy atmosphere that helps excuse some of the film’s worst excesses. Making the film genuinely entertaining to watch despite itself.

Was It Really That Bad? No

Regrettably, most audiences only view Batman and Robin as a punching bag. Yes, the film has a story, CG, and minor acting problems but it also has many aspects to appreciate and enjoy. Including its infectious atmosphere, its music, and some underappreciated performances. After years of dour, joyless Batman films, we need something as unapologetically bright and fun as Batman and Robin.

Also Read: The Batman: Snyderverse and the DCEU

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“I am responsible for polluting the airwaves with mind-numbing, puerile entertainment. In addition, I have murdered thirty-three human beings.”

Okay, there’s a bit to explain about the background of this film. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is based on the book of the same name by Chuck Barris, not a household name in the UK but he is very famous in America as the inventor of hit TV shows like The Dating Game (Blind Date to us Brits), The Newlywed Game, The Gong Show and others. That already might be enough for an interesting film but in the book Barris claims that as well as being a TV producer he was a hitman for the CIA. The film explores both aspects of this bizarre life.

“Rather than killing ourselves trying to find good acts… we just put on bad ones and kill them!”

Sam Rockwell plays Barris in what was a string of roles of Rockwell playing oddballs, Clooney is his CIA handler, and Drew Barrymore is Barris’ on again off again girlfriend – the two have an exceedingly modern relationship. Julia Roberts and Rutger Hauer pop up to round out the spy team and there are great cameos for the contestants of The Dating Game.

Rockwell is brilliant as Barris. He plays a distinctly unlikable character – manipulative, violent, cruel while at the same time having genuine charisma. Barris’ impact on television was huge and Rockwell pitching The Dating Game is a surreal moment of someone suggesting something that is in many ways obvious but nobody had done it. Barris is never content and always coming up with new games – including the incredibly titled The Game Game – and just his desperate and at times ingenious climb to the top of television is riveting. Then comes the CIA. Barris kills people, personally, with his own hands and the CIA is hardly particularly scrupulous about who ends up dead. Rockwell manages to hold the idea that these two very different careers can be successfully combined in one man.

Clooney is a typical 1950s Cold War American establishment type, constantly tempting Chuck with the more interesting and more perhaps more fulfilling life of a hitman. Drew Barrymore is charming as always as the hippy free-spirit woman who will just about put up with all of Barris’ nonsense (bear in mind she knows nothing of his CIA double-life).

“When you are young, your potential is infinite. You might do anything, really.

The film really is about Chuck Barris and his idea of success. He takes up the CIA hitman job when he thinks his life is going nowhere and as soon as he becomes successful regrets this rather extreme side of his life. Barris is extremely driven, starting in the NBC page programme (the same programme as Kenneth in 30 Rock is part of) and determined to work his way up. Barris is also quite odd – he regularly starts fights in bars despite being no good at fighting, his dating life is somewhat unusual and is also comfortable killing people. It may be noticed that what Barris makes are game shows, exceedingly low rent gameshows as well, The Gong Show was a talent contest and in the film Barris is credited with having the idea that a talent show doesn’t need people with talent – in fact, it’s more entertaining to watch talentless people fail. Throughout the film people confront Barris about making “garbage” television, with him putting on a veneer that success is all that matters but there is the lingering feeling that that is not the truth. After all, this is a man who legitimately wonders what’s a better life – making gameshows or killing people?

“I’m not killing people… my future’s in television”

Not long after the book was published Barris admitted that he had never worked for the CIA, he had simply made that up. Apparently, in his youth, he had applied for the CIA but had been unsuccessful and this book was partly imagining what that life might have been like. This is never really addressed in the film although the audience is prodded to question just how a reliable narrator Barris is.

For me this film is all about Barris trying to work out if his life was well-spent, was he successful, whatever views he really had on his television shows, whether he saw them as successful light entertainment that made people happy or he thought them brain-dead garbage we don’t know, but it is perhaps telling he had to invent a whole other life for himself as a CIA hitman so perhaps he wasn’t entirely satisfied.

Also Read: Underrated Movies: Power Rangers (2017)

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