superbob

superbob is a comedy about a british superhero and his efforts to find love on his day off. on one hand it’s a film about what would really happen if there was a superhero in the real world and all the inevitable bureaucracy and politics that this would necessitate. at the same time it’s also a film about how even the most incredible people are like everyone else when they’re off work.

brett goldstein does a fantastic job in the lead, making bob feel very much like an overworked civil servant but also giving him enough humanity and humour for us to care. natalia tena is also really good as his columbian cleaner, doris, the only person not impressed by bob’s superpowers. while the romance plot that drives the film is a little predictable at times, the actors really make it work and it feels genuine and real, which is impressive in a comedy about a superhero. speaking of the tone, there is actually one really dark moment in the film where superbob confronts genuine tragedy and it shouldn't work, but somehow they pull it off. it’s incredibly brave to risk the tone of your whole piece on a moment like that but again, because the acting and jon drever’s direction are so strong it really just adds to what makes this film so much more than a throwaway comedy.

at risk of making this too personal, the underlying theme of the film really resonated with me, as i’m sure it will with most people. this is ultimately a story about a guy with an incredibly demanding job that is killing his private life. bob is someone who understands why his job is important and enjoys aspects of it, but he fell into it; it wasn’t the thing he always wanted to do. so when he’s on his day off and his employers expect him to drop everything to resolve an international incident, that’s not so different to having to cancel your holiday because there’s suddenly something so fucking important at work that you have to come in, even though someone else could easily cover for you (not that i’m speaking from experience or anything). there’s a moment that really sums this up, where doris says to him ‘what did they do before they had you?'.

this is what i thought really made superbob work; this juxtaposition between the small, real life problem and the big, overblown work problem. in the end, sorting out his gas bill is as important to the character and the story as shaking hands with the u.s. president, and for the first time in a lifetime of reading comics and watching comicbook movies i found myself being able to truly relate to a superhero.

also there's totally a reference to house of leaves in this film. house of leaves is one of the most amazing books ever written. i'll make a video about it one day, but any film that references house of leaves is pretty cool as far as i'm concerned. so yeah, superbob is really good, it’s available on dvd and on a bunch of vod platforms, you should definitely check it out.