Batman turned 75 years old earlier this year (2014). In recognition, we are rebranding our site for one week to Now Very Bat… and focusing on the blockbusters, the smaller films, the comics and the video games that feature the Dark Knight.
140 Character Movie Review – #140RVW
Even if you love the 60’s tv Batman star (and I do), you may have a hard time staying engaged for 98 minute paint-by-numbers documentary…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Starring Adam West:
This documentary chronicles the (according to the filmmakers) underappreciated career of Adam West. The framework for the doc is their attempt to get West a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As documentaries go, it’s textbook. It has the exact same trajectory as virtually every documentary you’ll ever see. Really – the thing plays like it was a class assignment. It sets out its premise (or topic sentence to over-follow the academic metaphor), features tons of talking heads (but none so much as the star) and follows the highs and lows of the protagonists career before inevitably concluding with the objective being reached and our hero reflecting on their life.
When I say that the picture is formulaic, I really don’t mean that as a knock. This is pretty much exactly what you are supposed to do with these pieces. But it does mean that a vanity project like Starring Adam West is just as humorless and tedious as you might expect. I think Shatner learned how to take himself too seriously (while maintaining that he has a sense of humor about himself) from West. He sincerely asks of himself in this doc, “Can I be brilliant in what I do?”
It’s got lots of great footage of the young actor and you certainly learn more about his life. Whether this is a gap in your knowledge you needed filled is possibly up to you. The interviews are well done and the filmmakers certainly make a compelling case for West to get his star. After all, we’re not talking about a Nobel Prize, here. Adam West is a pop icon and completely deserving of the honor. But the thing that is really disturbing about the doc is the myriad clips of people at conventions saying things like “you’re my idol”. Really? In what way?
Look, I love the old tv show – everyone does. It’s perfectly ridiculous and amusing. I also understand that kids who grew up with it didn’t realize or care that it was campy. I know I sure didn’t – I thought it was a completely straightforward superhero show. I consumed it exactly the way I watched Super Friends or the Spider-Man cartoons. The not-so-subtleties were completely lost on me as a little kid – Batman and Robin were on tv and I loved seeing them. It was a great success for that reason – families could watch it together with everyone taking something different away. It was the spiritual predecessor to The Simpsons. (In more ways than one – like The Simpsons, stars clamored to provide cameos for Batman.) The show was a huge hit and a lot of fun.
And West is certainly a talent. He was a great looking young actor who probably could have become a big star had the dice rolled a different way. Who knows why certain people become superstars while others just as capable don’t?
But following the lead around like he’s Steve McQueen when he’s more akin to Eddie Munster is just plain weird. West has had a fairly successful if unremarkable career. He caught a wave and got carried along with a smash hit that swept him into pop culture history. He seems to be a good man and is incredibly gracious to all his fans. I’m just a little surprised how passionate they all are…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test & The Representation Test Score: n/a
| Main Cast | Tom Kenny Himself, Seth MacFarlane Himself, Burt Ward Himself, Adam West Himself |
| Rating | |
| Release Date | Thu 14 Mar 2013 UTC |
| Director | James E. Tooley |
| Genres | Documentary, Biography |
| Plot | Whether you know him from his iconic role as Batman in the 1966 television series or from his bizarre portrayal of the Mayor on Fox’s Family Guy… |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 98 |
| Tagline | |
| Writers | |
| Year | 2013 |
