Copyright /FILM
Joel Schumacher's 1997 film "Batman & Robin" is one of the best (and definitely brightest) examples of disastrous filmmaking in the history of superhero cinema. The movie completed the journey Schumacher's "Batman Forever" had already started and brought Gotham's caped crusader back to the camp live-action roots of the 1960s TV show ... only, with way more bat-themed nipple suits and credit cards. Suffice to say, star George Clooney knows why he wasn't asked to reprise Batman in 2023's "The Flash" (though, in all fairness, he did cameo as Bruce Wayne), and Schumacher himself has apologized for both "Batman & Robin" and the bat nipples. Now, Alicia Silverstone (who plays Batgirl in the movie) has shared some of her "Batman & Robin" experiences in a new Entertainment Weekly interview. As you might imagine, the experience was extremely chaotic, and she specifically thanked Clooney for supporting her throughout the confusion: "I remember a lot of things not making sense. We would be in a big warehouse and there was so many extras and so much going on ... [George] really was like a big brother in those circumstances. So cool. He stood up for me and was reasonable when things were not. I remember we finally got the things on and we're standing there on top of this platform in the warehouse, and I turned to Chris [O'Donnell] and George and I said, 'What do we do?' And they're like, 'Don't worry, you'll figure it out.' I was like, 'What do you mean?' And then I hear over a big bullhorn, 'Throw the thing!' and I said, 'Chris, throw what at what?' He's like, 'Don't worry about it, you're overthinking it.' It's like, 'What do you mean? We don't even know what we're throwing!' because they added it all later." Even today, the overstuffed and messy "Batman & Robin" can teach us lessons on how not to make a superhero movie, so it's not exactly shocking to hear that the experience was doubly more confusing for an actor in the middle of it all, struggling to understand the project or what was expected of her. Silverstone experienced all of this, it should be noted, while wearing what sounds like the most uncomfortable costume imaginable. As she told Entertainment Weekly: "To get the outfit on took so much time and energy. And once you had it on, you couldn't go to the bathroom for ages. These were not easy costumes. You had to put baby powder all over your body to get it on. The whole thing was a big production." Things didn't get much better after the movie was out. After suffering through all that, Silverstone and the others had to live through the movie being widely panned, to the point that it was nominated for 11 Razzie Awards. As luck would have it, the sole "winner" was none other than Silverstone. However, time has been gentle to the camp and unserious elements of "Batman & Robin," and the movie is held in far better regard now than it was back in the day. Understandably, Silverstone appreciates the movie's late-game glory. "Batgirl had a revival! When it came out, I don't think people liked it very much, but later on, people told me it's their favorite movie," she said. "[At least] all my gay friends. It's very camp."
