It’s been a couple decades, now, I think we can all just admit it: for a certain version of Batman, Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin kind of rules. A cheesy fever dream, it’s an incredible exercise in ‘90s Blockbuster excess and the sort of Batman that fans of Adam West’s ‘60s series would recognise and enjoy. The credit cards? The Bat Nipples? These things are ridiculous, and they’re ridiculous on purpose. If you play along, it’s a blast.
And I’m not the only one who thinks this. In the past few years, I’ve seen a lot of people be kinder to the much-maligned film. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include the film’s star, George Clooney, who really should give himself more credit.
As recently explained by Clooney to Howard Stern (as transcribed by the Hollywood Reporter), Clooney still has some big regrets.
“The truth of the matter is, I was bad in it. Akiva Goldsman — who’s won the Oscar for writing since then — he wrote the screenplay. And it’s a terrible screenplay, he’ll tell you. I’m terrible in it, I’ll tell you. Joel Schumacher, who just passed away, directed it, and he’d say, ‘Yeah, it didn’t work.’ We all whiffed on that one,” he said.
[referenced id=”1225068″ url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/06/joel-schumacher-the-man-who-gave-us-bat-nipples-has-died-at-80/” thumb=”https://gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/23/ekjwhmh3hojt1bnfw0fe-300×169.jpg” title=”Joel Schumacher, the Man Who Gave Us Bat-Nipples, Has Died at 80″ excerpt=”Say what you will about Joel Schumacher’s stint as the architect of Batman’s cinematic presence, but never let it be said that the director didn’t have taste.”]
Clooney added that, while he was in the movie, he had very little say in how it went down.
“I couldn’t have done that one differently,” Clooney said when Stern asked about production regrets. “It’s a big machine, that thing. You have to remember at that point, I was just an actor getting an acting job. I wasn’t the guy who could greenlight a movie.”
I’m sorry you have regrets, George. But, come on. It’s pretty fun. Uma Thurman! Arnie! It’s a fun time. Give yourself a break.