I Am the Bat-Man

Author(s): George (GA)
I Am the Bat-Man

Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Spike Jonze
Music by: Thomas Newman

Cast:

Jim Carrey as Tim Crawford/ The Bat-Man
Sam Elliott as Police Chief Colin Shickadance
Alison Lohman as Jill
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as “Judo Master” Yakamura
Tim Blake Nelson as CNN reporter Mark Matheson
Sean Bean as Prosecutor Nathan Kelvin
And George Clooney as Defense Attorney Blake Johnson

Tagline: “He changed things… Forever.”

Synopsis:

Where do we begin?
Entrepreneur/inventor Tim Crawford was sitting in his one room apartment watching the evening news. He had just finished trying to sell his new invention “The Ninja Star” which he made all by himself. People laughed at him when he told them about his inventions (after all they were all from his favorite superhero Batman) but he never stopped trying. His neighbor Jill asked why he kept doing this line of “work”. Tim honestly didn’t know, but knew he could help people if he really tried.

Now, as he sat watching the horribly depressing evening news, he started to wonder. Why isn’t anyone actually trying to stop crime on their own? Sure, there was the police but no ONE single person ever went completely vigilante on crime, like Batman. Tim looked at all his inventions, and smiled. He had a black sweatshirt, black pants, and a batman mask he got on his twelfth birthday. Why couldn’t HE be that one guy who could stop crime…?

Police Chief Colin Shickadance was at his two story, three bedroom house where his wife was getting ready for bed and he was sitting on the bed drinking his fifth beer. He turned on his television and turned to the city’s local news. He was amazed to see that the top story was that of a man dressing up as comic book “hero” Batman. Apparently he had caught two robbers in the act of theft and tied them up after knocking them out. Shickadance was stunned. In his 27 years on the force he never saw anyone go solo against crime. No one was that stupid. That was the kind of stupidness that was like if someone meant to say Shickadance’s name wrong. That was the epitome of stupidness. He growled as he went to bed. He would deal with this in the morning.

Later in the week, Tim went to take Judo lessons from “Judo Master” Yakamura. He couldn’t expect to fight crime by just copying what he did in the movies. After two weeks he was ready, but “Judo Master” Yakamura had to settle for an I.O.U. instead of cash from Tim.

Soon, Tim, I mean “The Bat-Man”, was all over the news. It wasn’t a month later until CNN reporter Mark Matheson picked up the story and broadcasted it all over the US. Jill had been giving less and less money to Tim to pay his rent as he started to get a steady job at a local grocery store and Yakamura finally got his pay. Meanwhile, Shickadance was getting angrier and angrier. Not only were new recruits constantly mispronouncing name, but the whole “Bat-Man” thing was getting out of hand. No one citizen has the right to do the police’s work. No One! He had to stop this guy before they started calling him instead of the police for help. It was simple. Trap The Bat-Man.

On a routine night, Tim was out and about looking for criminals to stop and things like that, when all of a sudden he saw Jill in her apartment with a gun to her head. He sped over there to see if she was all right, but when he got there he saw Police Chef Shickarance (or –mance , or –lance or something like that) and was immediately knocked out.

Two days later, Tim was exposed to the world as “The Bat-Man” and was the center of a new media sensation. When Mark Matheson received the news he was horrified and became the center of the “Free The Bat-Man” club dedicated to getting this citizen out of jail. The country fell in love with Tim/The Bat-Man because he genuinely was trying to do something good in the world. Web sites and books were written about him and he was soon put on trial. Shickadance was able to hire high-powered prosecutor Nathan Kelvin and get him to come all the way from Britain to make sure that this nut job would stay at an asylum for the rest of his life. Matheson was able to get into contact with smooth talking defense attorney Blake Johnson and got him to take Tim’s case. Kelvin had given Tim a slew of charges, and he and Johnson had to figure out how to make the jury believe they weren’t true.

After a grueling three weeks Tim is finally put on the stand. He and Johnson had gone through a lot to prove his innocence, but Kelvin had gotten Jill to testify against him and claimed that she didn’t know he was “The Bat-Man”. Johnson had done all he could and so had Tim. Tim finally is able to speak for himself and says that he had only done good for the city and had not made any innocent people endangered or injured. What he did was to try and help his decaying city and country stop the crime that was suffocating the people around him. The jury was ready to reach a decision. The whole country was tuning in. Tim was ready for his fate. The verdict came out: NOT GUILTY!

What the Press Would Say:

Spike Jonze’s new comedy takes weirdness and the effect of public opinion to another level. “I Am the Bat-Man” is funny, and occasionally gut-wrenching look, at the effect of how one man can send this nation into a downright frenzy. The film also has many references to new Batman film, The Dark Knight and pokes fun at some of its trailer’s most used lines (the tagline is an obvious example). Jim Carrey leads this all-star cast as the multi-dimensional and lovable Tim Crawford aka “The Bat-Man”. Sam Elliott pulls out a downright mean and gutsy performance as the ill-tempered and oddly named Police Chief Shickadance. He gives a comedic edge to the film (the mere saying of his name can cause you to laugh) and is never boring on screen. Alison Lohman gives a believable and emotional performance, as Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa gives a funny and sometimes silly performance as “Judo Master” Yakamura. Tim Blake Nelson also gives a good performance for what he is given, but it is Sean Bean and George Clooney who give two of the best performances in the film. Bean excels as the cold and seemingly heartless prosecutor Nathan Kelvin. His many monologues gives him plenty of time to see how capable he really is and his presence alone gives a cold and dramatic tone the film. Clooney, on the other hand, brings comedy back into the film as the fast talking and suave defense attorney. He and Carrey have a very good cause and effect relationship that puts the film back on a light note. The cinematography gives some looks obviously taken from the previous batman films, and Carrey’s suit is actually less of a batman costume than ever. He has a tapped Batman symbol on his chest, which he cuts out of a magazine, and gets a black blanket he has as his cape. Overall, Jonze delivers his own touch and even make’ “the city” have no name just so it can have a slightly ominous touch. The last third of the film really makes you think of how many rights a citizen really has, and how they should be treated. A great script and performances also makes this a very witty, silly and sometimes very clever film that pokes fun at America, the media, and even the average superhero fan!
Nominations:

Best Picture
Best Actor (Jim Carrey)
Best Supporting Actor (Sean Bean)
Best Director (Spike Jonze)
Best Original Screenplay (Spike Jonze)