Batman movie?

            Which one?

            There have been ten Batman movies since the sixties and two serials in the forties. Bob Kane created the character in 1939 for Detective Comics (DC). Twenty-seven years later, William Dozier created a television series that Cary (Kim was just two) thought was the coolest thing in the world. To a five-year-old, it was. The movie appeared between the first two seasons and helped ratings for Year 2. This review is about the movie.

            Kim recalled and laughed at all the “Bam,” “Pow,” “Bloop,” and “Zonk.” We actually had to get a large Rubbermaid tub and place it under the television set as Cheese-Wizz oozed out of the screen. This film and the series are described as ‘campy.’

            The movie broke out more gadgets and vehicles than the show usually had. We see the Bat-Boat, Bat-Copter, Bat-Ladder, and, best of all, Bat-Shark Repellent and more. When the shark jumps out of the water and grabs Batman’s leg, it is so freaking stupid it is hilarious.

            Everything has a label on it. There are more things in this movie than in the TV show, which is understandable given the larger budget. Batman asks, “What super criminals are currently not in prison?” (as if he wouldn’t know), and the big four are all out: Cat Woman, the Joker, the Riddler, and the Penguin. “Holy Shit, Batman!” this cannot be good for the Dynamic Duo/

            I would guess most viewers did not know how famous those criminal actors were. Cesar Romero (Joker) had been a big star, a Latin lover type, and this role was a step-down. Burgess Meredith (Penguin) had a decades-long career divided into two parts. He was one of America’s best actors until, in the fifties, he was semi-blacklisted and had to work his way back. You may know him best as Micky Goldmill in the Rocky movies.

            Frank Gorshin (Riddler) was an accomplished actor, comedian, and impressionist and even appeared in an early Star Trek. Lee Merriweather (Cat Woman) didn’t have the role on the TV show; that was Julie Newmar, who had another commitment for the movie. Kim said she had to be a size two, which was not bad for Miss America 1955.

            There are other funny moments. Bruce Wayne and Kitka (Cat Woman) have a date, and then they kiss. Robin and Alfred stop their surveillance, and of course, he is then kidnapped. Batman has a hell of a time disposing of a bomb, running around a dock with it over his head, and finding all types of people and even baby ducks to prevent him from disposing of it. There are others. Kim dozed off for ten minutes, but she works hard, and that is not unusual.

            I don’t know if I would pay to see it. I found it on a cable channel 300 something and DVR’d it. If you want a mindless night of stupidity, there is MUCH worse. Kim asked at the end, “Did that get an Oscar?” She is phasing out her cleaning business clients and will soon go on tour doing comedy.

            Thank you, Seth McFarland, for keeping Adam West busy late in life on Family Guy. Adam West is hilarious in his role there.

            Finally, sometime in the mid-2000s, I saw the television show Batman. I laughed at it, my first favorite program. A man in his mid-forties was viewing a series that a six-year-old loved. Then I noticed a few things from my adult perspective.

            Shortly after that, I visited my parents and said to my dad, “Hey, I thought you watched Batman with me being a good father. I just watched it again. Cat Woman was smoking hot, and so was Bat girl.” One of my last and fondest memories was him laughing, an admission of guilt.

            I miss you old man, as Mr. Springsteen sings “I’ll See You In My Dreams.”