Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) was high up on my favorite movies of 2014 list, and like practically everyone else I’ve talked to, Michael Keaton was primarily the reason why. Michael Keaton, you guys! How easily he veers between stoic and stone-faced and bizarre and unhinged; how effortless he makes those contrasting emotional states look. Keaton excels with it in Birdman, but look at his filmography and it’s always been there – of course in Beetlejuice, but also importantly in Batman Returns.
It’s strange to go back and watch Batman Returns now that our pop-culture psyche has been shaped so thoroughly by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but since Tim Burton’s sequel is set during Christmas time and it is now, you know, Christmas time, you should do it. And get ready for just how Tim Burton-y it is, a dimly macabre – and almost anti-capitalist – view of the holiday season. All in all, it’s quite strange: Batman (Keaton) and the Penguin (a perfectly cast Danny DeVito) are supposed to be doubles, and the movie amps up the Penguin’s physicality to drive home their differences; Michelle Pfeiffer goes full unhinged, oozing confrontation in a way that Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman never did; and CHRISTOPHER WALKEN. Christopher Walken! Christopher. Walken.
Still need more reasons for why you should cue up Batman Returns in the next few days? OK, fine, let’s do this.
+ Reason 1: The overall set design! Want to see Christmas put through some kind of fascist nightmare? Look no further than the depiction of Gotham in Batman Returns – all ominous statues; imposingly tall, leaning-over-you buildings; marble and granite and materials that feel like no warmth will ever make its way into your body again. Christmas is supposed to be a festive time, but here, Gotham feels unabashedly cold – and as an indictment of the season, it works.
+ Reason 2: Alfred! Our favorite manservant spends this movie decorating Bruce Wayne’s almost grotesquely opulent Christmas tree and doling out hard truths to our favorite orphan. And he does them both like a badass because, you know, it’s Alfred. What is he going to do, fuck those things up? Please.
+ Reason 3: Michelle Pfeiffer’s scarily sexual Catwoman. The perfect mix of teasing and terror. And look, those hairdos speak for themselves.
+ Reason 4: Speaking of hairdos, please take note of Christopher Walken’s exceptional bouffant. It’s silver as hell and it’s moussed within an inch of its life and it does not fuck around.
+ Reason 5: The Penguin’s penguin army. If you have any kids in your life interested in seeing Dreamworks’s Penguins of Madagascar this holiday, shut that down immediately and show them Batman Returns instead. They might have some nightmares, but that’s a natural part of life, right? And then you won’t have to see Penguins of Madagascar, so really, it’s a Christmas miracle.
Batman Returns is available for streaming through Netflix Instant and for rent through Amazon Instant Video.
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