"Birdman"

“Birdman” is up for Best Picture.

It’s no secret this is complete and total actor bait. I’ll go one further and say, this is specifically one actor bait. Michael Keaton. It is about a has-been superstar who donned a cape to play a super hero only to have it come back to haunt him when he wants to do something more serious. Sound familiar? Yeah. This is a first I’ve ever seen a movie written about an actor’s career played by the actor it’s about lamenting about his past. It consumes him the same way I think the cape crusader had done so to Keaton. I’m not sure how to take this movie. It says a LOT of things I say about the movie business and aging. For that, it’s comforting to know that I’m not far off the mark. HOWEVER, it’s also disheartening to know the bitterness that comes with a brief moment or touch of greatness. There are moments in it that are truly heartbreaking. You know a lot of this was very much taken from Keaton’s own thoughts. In particular, his attitude towards his “fans.” In for a penny in for a pound.

For those who aren’t familiar with Keaton, I’m not completely sure this would be all that interesting. I kept thinking that had it not been about Keaton, I’d have already checked out. I wonder if you took him out of this movie, would it have still be a movie? I don’t think so. It’s be a finely crafted story about someone we know that would nag at us under the cityscape of Gotham…I mean…New York City.

I can sense that the theater actors out there eat this up with a ladle. It’s perfect for the Academy voters, they love actors acting. Like I predicted before watching this movie, it is an indictment to celebrity and stars. In fact, they have a theater critic who lays it all out.

Would I recommend this movie? Meh. It’s okay. I see a TON of glowing reviews although “Day For Night” is a much more entertaining take on the exact same subject (surprised the comparison hadn’t been made). For the movie goer, I’m not quite sure the general public appreciates this type of scumbags. I don’t think there’s enough for Joe Public to really care about. If anything, they’d be turned off by the whining and theatrical hissy fits.