Birdman Review

After a seriously false start yesterday, I ended up in the theatre. I had missed my first two choices in movies so I went with a random choice that the couple behind me in line were going to see. Having never even heard of the movie, it's fair to say that I had zero expectations. For those that know me, I did confirm that this wasn't a horror movie because with a title like that, one never knows.

According to IMDB, the movie is about:

" A washed up actor, who once played an iconic superhero, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play."

The movie starts Michael Keaton, who I honestly haven't seen in anything in ages. I know that he's done quite a bit, but I just haven't seen it. No fault to the poor actor that I can't manage to get out more.  When I first realized who the actor was and that the premise involved him playing an iconic superhero who then goes on to lesser things after retiring the role, I wondered how much of the film was autobiographical. I mean, c'mon...Birdman...Batman...it's not much of a stretch.

In fact, the role seemed a little too real, so this morning, I hit up Wikipedia to double check that the man had a career after Batman.  Turns out, he hasn't done any Broadway work, his career may have peaked, but he hasn't been out of work and this whole connection is just him poking fun at his past role. Whew! My research also showed me that this movie has been nominated for about eleventy billion awards. In fact, Mr. Keaton actually won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical. This is where I get confused.

When I saw this movie yesterday, the theatre was actually full of old people. No, seriously, I was probably one of five people under the age of near 70. Watching it, I don't recall more than a single chuckle throughout.  So, how this movie ended up the Comedy section baffles me. It's just not a comedy and it most certainly isn't a musical. Comedies should make people laugh and musicals ...well, they should be musical.

This movie is drama all the way. It's a serious story of how we let go of one thing because it's come to define us, just to discover that the struggle to find a new identity is a real one. The cast for this movie does a brilliant job with their roles, but by the end of the movie, I was wondering what time it was. The movie just seemed to drag and for once, I didn't stick around for the credits. Those who know me, especially my long suffering children, know that I always stick around for the credits. They fascinate me. I also feel that if these people took their time to put together what I just enjoyed, they deserve for me to see their name.

Walking out into the snow, slush, and cold, I could only think, "Well, I would have paid $5 for this, but I wouldn't pay $8.50." The story was good, but not great. The actors were very good in their roles, but could have been amazing if given the opportunity. Overall, this is a movie that I don't regret seeing, but it's not making my "Omg, I have to have this on the shelf list."