DVDs
66 AMERICANWAY
January 1 2008
Matt Ogen’s charming documentary
Confessions of
a Superhero
, out on DVD this month, chronicles the
down-and-out lives of four aspiring actors who suit up
as famous superheroesonHollywoodBoulevard topose
for photos with tourists, collect tip money, and get a
big-screen break (they hope). The film is simultaneously
funny, poignant, andcreepy, showing thecrew tobeany-
thing but the invincible heroes they portray. There’s the
physical: “The Hulk” passes out in a Hollywood restau-
rant on a 106-degree day that almost melts his plastic
suit. And there’s the emotional: “Superman” is a recov-
ering addict. Herewe list some of themajor differences
between the real people and theirHollywoodBoulevard
hero counterparts.
The hero
The
Background
The cause
REAL:
WonderWoman,
a.k.a. DianaPrince
HoLLywood BouLEvARd:
WonderWoman,
a.k.a. JenniferGehrt
REAL:
Superman, a.k.a. ClarkKent,
a.k.a. Kal-El
HoLLywood BouLEvARd:
Superman,
a.k.a. ChristopherDennis
WonderWoman is anamazonian
princesswho leaves her native
Paradise Island to live in the
world ofmen (and otherwomen).
She is said tobe as “beautiful as
aphrodite, wise asathena, swift-
er thanHermes, and stronger
thanHercules.”and she is single.
Tofight against thenazis in
WorldWar II. at least, thatwas
the original purposewhenWon-
derWomanmoved to theworld
ofman. Today, shefights some-
what lesser evils of all kinds.
Jennifer Gehrt is a former
homecomingqueenwho left her
nativeTennessee topursue fame
and fortune in la-la land. She
is single— now. She divorced
after aquickiemarriage inLas
Vegas. “I’m very hard todeal
with,” Gehrt concedes in the
documentary. “I’m very high-
maintenancewhen it comes to
attention.”
Tobecome famous. “What else
is there?” Gehrt asks. “Sure,
adoctor saves lives, but is he
remembered? Is he there for all
times?People are still talking
aboutMarilynMonroe. People
are still talking about Elvis Pres-
ley. People in the entertainment
business are forever here.”
Kal-El, born on the doomed
planet of Krypton, is savedby his
parentswhen they put him in a
rocket and send him on a course
towardEarth. Here, thanks to
our planet’s lesser gravitational
pull and yellow sun, he has su-
perpowers. (Look, that probably
made sense in 1938.) Today, he
lives in a city namedMetropolis
andworks, out of costume, as a
mild-mannered reporter.
Christopher Dennis is a reformed
drug userwho now smokes
cigarettes inprivate, since heroes
don’t light up inpublic. He got off
drugs after deciding “enough is
enough,” he says in
Confessions
. “I
waswatchingTV [while ondrugs]
and saw adeath scene. Itwas al-
most like Iwaswatchingmy own
death.” Dennis is now addicted
to all things Superman. He has
crammed his Losangeles apart-
mentwithmore than$90,000
worth of Supermanmemorabilia.
To helpprotectweak earthlings,
especially usamericanweak
earthlings. Early on, Superman
declared that he stood for “truth,
justice and theamericanway.”
Of late, that’s been updated, or
maybe downgraded. In
Super-
manReturns
, the latest big-
screen adaptation of the char-
acter, the slogan has become,
“Truth, justice, and all that stuff.”
Tobecome famous. Dennis, as
Superman, isnowa semiregular
on
JimmyKimmel Live!
,which is
broadcast just across the street
from theKodakTheaterand
Mann’sChineseTheatre,where the
costumedheroes in
Confessions
do
theirwork. Thoseappearanceshave
helpedhim landotherTV inter-
viewsandmagazineprofiles. “I like
to thinkmy futureholds fameand
fortune,”Dennis says in
Confessions
.
“I like to say I’vegot the fame
without the fortune rightnow.”
