I just came upon an interesting documentary that Morgan Spurlock put out. Like What Would Jesus Buy, Spurlock didn’t make Confessions of a Superhero but is distributing it. It’s a look at a phenomena in Hollywood, where people will dress up in costume, hang around on Hollywood Boulevard and pose for pictures with tourists for tips. It follows four acting hopefuls, Christopher Dennis, Maxwell Allen, Jennifer Wenger, and Joseph McQueen who dress up as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk.
The film is at times funny, sad, a little scary and thought provoking as you follow them through their day. During the course of the film you see Dennis go to the Superman celebration in Metropolis, Illinois where he proposes and marries his long time girl friend; Allen visits a psychiatrist (in costume) to get help with his anger management problems; Wenger walks out on her troubled marriage; and McQueen gets a supporting role in a low budget Kung Fu spoof.
What becomes fascinating about the film is how each of these people come to resemble the characters they dress up as. Dennis is the true blue friend of the people, always willing to help others and careful not to do anything that would reflect badly on the image of his hero, Superman. Allen is constantly getting into fights with tourists and a one point several construction workers who won’t let him use their port a potty. Wenger wants to be taken seriously as an actress on her auditions, not a sex object. McQueen just wants to be accepted in the acting community.
The film starts out being an amusing look at people in a strange occupation to make ends meet while waiting for that big break, and ends up showing how heartbreaking the Hollywood dream can be while the powerful allure of stardom still keeps them going.
