Well, I tried to watch the 1984 Supergirl movie for the first time…
…but I just couldn’t do it. I got, I don’t know, about 40 minutes or so in, over a couple of attempts on consecutive nights, and decided it just wasn’t worth the effort. It did have 1) Helen Slater as a charming Supergirl despite everything, 2) Peter Cook being as Peter Cook-ish as the movie would allow, and 3) Matt Frewer in a brief role as a street creep, but that just wasn’t enough, I’m afraid. There is a fine line between the filmmakers allowing the viewer to fill in narrative gaps and filmmakers just not giving half a darn, and I’m afraid Supergirl veered more closely to the latter. It’s the kind of thing that brought us “Phantom Zone Villain Levitation-Ray Finger” and “Restore-Great-Wall-of-China-Vision” in the Superman films, the “who cares/it’s good enough” method of storytelling that tells anyone even vaguely familiar with the source material that they, and said source material, don’t matter enough to be treated with even the slightest respect.
I tried to be more charitable…even the venerated Superman: The Movie isn’t without its flaws, but even trying to view Supergirl as a near-dreamlike fairy tale, which one suspects was at least partially the intent, it’s just not very well done. Or it’s just that what passed for cutting-edge superhero movie-making in the mid-1980s just hasn’t aged well into the early 21st century. Or maybe I just plain wasn’t in the mood for it. Whatever the reason, it was more than I could bear, so back in the ol’ Netflix envelope it goes. Sorry, #1 Fan of the 1984 Supergirl Movie That I’m Sure I’ll Be Hearing from Soon.
In other news: I’ve been trying to come up with a follow-up to my last post, in particular the response from blogging brother Tim, but I’ve been having a hard time of it. It’s a complicated issue, regarding how best to return an old series to the stands after years of absence, and there’s no good answer. You can just ignore what came before and start afresh (like Valiant), you can reissue everything previously published prior to starting new material, either in individual issues (Miracleman) or in book collections (Beanworld).
Or, in the case of the Badger, which, as I’d said before, is pretty continuity-light, just bring him back in new adventures and reintroduce old characters/situations as needed. Old fans will be satisfied, and new fans won’t feel like they’re out of their depth with missed backstory.
I don’t know…it’s tough, and anyone, from new creators to long-established ones, trying to claim a little space on retailers’ shelves among the multiple Batman and Deadpool comics has my sympathies and understanding. It’s a small, tough marketplace and you’ve got your work cut out for you.
In other, other news, pal Andrew will be featuring Shrinking Violet from the Legion of Super-Heroes all this month. Why, you may ask? Why not, I reply.
“Sorry, #1 Fan of the 1984 Supergirl Movie That I’m Sure I’ll Be Hearing from Soon.”
I’ll step up.
http://heisathark.blogspot.com/2015/02/hitting-nail.html
In the wisest of all internet abbreviation, YMMV.
“Or it’s just that what passed for cutting-edge superhero movie-making in the mid-1980s just hasn’t aged well into the early 21st century”
..but… but… it didn’t pass AT ALL in the 80s.
It was a great big flop at the time. A blockbuster flop. There’s a reason there were no sequels.
“Just bring him back in new adventures and reintroduce old characters/situations as needed. Old fans will be satisfied, and new fans won’t feel like they’re out of their depth with missed backstory.”
Ah, yes… The ol’ Before Watchmen strategy.
— MrJM
I agree. I tried to watch it as well and didn’t get nearly as far as you. Way too campy and makes no sense.
” but even trying to view Supergirl as a near-dreamlike fairy tale, which one suspects was at least partially the intent, it’s just not very well done. Or it’s just that what passed for cutting-edge superhero movie-making in the mid-1980s just hasn’t aged well into the early 21st century. Or maybe I just plain wasn’t in the mood for it.”
Don’t feel bad, dude. It’s just a TERRIBLE movie. It’s not as bad as Superman 4, but it’s close!
I think you meant Peter O’Toole, not Peter Cook.
I try to do the whole “Superman Completionist” thing, and the only time I made it all the way through this movie was when I had the flu and was too tired and sick to find the remote to turn it off. And then just assumed the nonsensical ending was a fever dream until sometime later when I saw video of the ending in a Superman doc somewhere.
I recall reading a rumor that the poor showing of the movie helped convince DC it was okay to kill off Kara Zor-El during Crisis, which led to socially inept fanboys telling Helen Slater she killed Supergirl. Which… leave Helen Slater alone, I say.
The best thing out of Supergirl is that Helen Slater is game for showing up in other Superman media and has turned up on Smallville and Supergirl on CBS. the worst thing is the scene where she fights an invisible monster because, clearly, the Salkinds were done paying for FX.
Daniel, Peter Cook is in this movie doing his Peter Cook thing as one of Faye Dunaway’s associates.
I have written in defense of the Supergirl movie, but it was in context of a special edition DVD release. Sadly, as much as I love Supergirl (I have no idea why, I just do) this was not a good film, though it was rather in keeping with the first Supergirl stories, which were, frankly, regrettable at times. The film does have its good elements, though, such as the aerial ballet, while Slater is sweet and charming in the role. This was also one of Peter O’Toole’s more notably drunk roles.
To be honest, Supergirl as a concept seems to be hard for people to grasp. Many of the attempts to do something with the character concept have fallen flat, including those in the comics.
I’m not going to try and get you to give the movie another shot in any of its versions. You need that time for the upcoming Crazy Steve v Superjesus: Pants To Be Darkened.
Yeah, even at the time Supergirl was no great shakes, though as you say Helen Slater was fine in the role and deserved a much better movie to be the star and heroine of, which she did end up getting in the form of The Legend of Billie Jean, so there’s that.
If they could have gotten Chris Reeve to make even like a 10 second cameo, that would have been *something* in the movie’s favor beyond the usual “well, Helen Slater was pretty good.”