Nipple, I Mean Triple, The Fun
After pulling off the miracle of getting moviegoers to accept another Batman in Val Kilmer after Michael Keaton nailed the persona in two films, the studio unfortunately had to recast the title role due to Kilmer being busy with The Saint. At the time, George Clooney was white hot, with his popularity from prime time juggernaut E.R. thought to carry over to this project. Thus, WB locked him down and, despite what you thought of his performance in this motion picture, you have to give him credit for working seven day weeks. Seriously, the guy worked on Batman & Robin and E.R. at the same time!
Still, there was a measure of comfort with Chris O’Donnell returning as Dick Grayson/Robin, his character having previously debuted in Batman Forever. But, that wasn’t enough as screenwriter Akiva Goldsman thought it best to echo that movie damn near beat for beat by adding another to the Bat Family: Batgirl. There was, however, a catch.
You see, she wouldn’t be Barbara Gordon, but rather, Barbara Wilson, niece to trusted Wayne Manor butler Alfred Pennyworth. Perhaps this stray from canon would’ve been overlooked had the handling of one of the most recognizable female superheroes have gone better.
Wait. Scratch that. Everything about this portrayal was wrong, right down to her hair color. Being someone who doesn’t mind seeing a blonde James Bond, I’m aware of how silly such a thing sounds to the layman, but Babs is known for her flowing red locks, and if you could give Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy that treatment, then why not Batgirl? Furthermore, they shoved it in our faces by discarding her iconic cowl in most scenes as not to interrupt her reenacting shampoo commercials.
What I fail to grasp is how Batman would consider keeping her on board after she says, “Bruce, it’s me, Barbara!” right in front of Ivy in the third act! Who knows, maybe their costumes were on too tight and cut off the blood flow to their heads?