Confessions of a Superhero (Matthew Ogens, 2007)

Matthew Ogens examines the strange lives of Hollywood "street artists" or whatever you would like to call the people who hang outside of the Mann's Chinese Theatre dressed as various movie characters.

1st is Superman: Christopher Dennis, the son of the actress Sandy Dennis (although her family denies it), who basically eats, sleeps, and breathes Superman. His house is full of memorabilia, comics, and the like. He is surprisingly sane. It's obvious he has had an interesting past and admits to doing meth for a long time until one day he saw a Superman comic and decided that's what he was going to be. He looks surprisingly like Christopher Reeves (with a prominent gap in his teeth). His most depressing moment is when he loses a best costume contest at some Superman fair in Metropolis, (midwest somewhere) to an old fat guy who had a lot of friends with him. But he redeems himself by proposing to his girlfriend at dinner that night.

2nd is The Hulk: Joseph McQueen, who despite the name is actually a pretty goofy looking black guy. He sold his Nintendo for a one-way grey hound ticket to Hollywood. He lived as a homeless person for the better part of two years. He eventually took up hanging around in a hulk costume because he didn't like begging for money. His most triumphant moment is scoring a role in a Finishing the Game, a comedy about a film Bruce Lee never finished and the ridiculousness of Hollywood. He actually gets about a half second of screen time on the trailer. Most depressing- blacking out inside of the hulk costume in 105 degree weather.


3rd is Batman: Maxwell Allen, this guy is just a little bit off his rocker. He adamantly believes he used to be a hit man for the mob. He looks vaguely like George Clooney, if Clooney were a bit older and heavier. His saddest moment is getting arrested for fighting with some union workers (fuck unions btw) for using their Porto-Jon's. His most triumphant moment getting a job as security for a film production. Since that will allow him to be around the business and who knows, maybe get him a part.



4th is Wonder Woman: Jennifer Wenger, she moved to Hollywood from nowhere mid-west at the age of 18. Once out here she met and married a man within two weeks. She wanted to be an actress. Unfortunately for her there is MORE than an abundance of beautiful women in LA and her homey mid-western looks couldn't quiet do it for her. IMO to make it as an actress in LA you need one of three things (all three is ideal): 1. Connections 2. Looks that could kill 3. Winning the lottery twice-esque luck. Unfortunately she didn't have any of those as of this post her IMDb page has three additions beside this film. Mind of Mencia (doesn't that kill a career?), Jimmy Kimmel (which is located about 50 feet down from Mann's Theatre), and My Name Is Earl (not bad.) She is the most depressing to watch during this film, she goes from a pretty, skinny, young mid-westerner with high hopes to a slightly overweight, Hollywood burnout.

This film is both depressing and uplifting. It is showing people attempting to live out there American dreams in the best way they can manage. The heros get bursts of fame, but never anything more than the kind of looks the Elephant Man got. Curious glances, fascinating and horrifying at the same time. Who are these people? Why are they here? This film attempts to explain those questions in the most humane way possible.

It is funny looking at the lives of these people then comparing them to the people they portray. There is a Captain Jack Sparrow out there (or three) who is played by Johnny Depp who is one of those souls to accidently fall into the movie industry. He was just going along with a friend to an audition when he was cast as a prime victim in Friday the 13th. Just goes to show. Luck, Looks, & Connections are necessary.