In Defense of Joel Schumacher's Batman Movies

The original Batman movies between 1989-1997 are some of the most popular and topical films starring the Caped Crusader. While the first 2 directed by Tim Burton are often regarded as the most well made Batman films, the ones by Joel Schumacher are...not. I'm of the camp that they're rather enjoyable films, if not otherwise guilty pleasures. Having rewatched them on HBOMAX, I find that they still offer some substance and entertainment value.

Storywise, Batman Forever delves into Bruce Wayne's long suppressed tramua regarding his parents' murder while Batman & Robin finds him learning to trust his newfound partner in crime fighting. Batman Forever is often regarded as the better of the 2 Schumacher Batman movies in terms of storytelling, and I agree. In addition to taking the time to explore this part of Bruce Wayne's character, this film also organically sets up Robin's origin and how he becomes Batman's young ward. Batman & Robin, meanwhile, has a more straightforward plot while also introducing Barbara Wilson, aka Batgirl into the mix. This makes the film a tad predictable, yet the element in which both films succeed it is the over-the-top acting (particularly from the villains), the cheesy lines and outlandish costumes.

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge how fun these films are? Joel Schumacher was tasked to make these film more lighthearted in contrast to Burton's take and he more than delivered. Gotham is more vibrant and lively, and the costumes look more extravagant. I especially love the portrayal of Two-Face in this film, from wearing double sided clothes, having 2 maids dressed as an angel and devil, as well as his goons wearing double sided masks. I'm aware people have a strong distaste for Mr. Freeze's puns, but honestly a couple of them got a genuine chuckle out of me. Many people claim that Batman & Robin was made to sell toys, but having watched both films back to back, I feel Joel Schumacher just doubled down on the campy nature of Forever and gave Batman more gadgets and gizmos as an homage to the 1960s Batman TV series with Adam West.

While I enjoy these movies and all their cheesiness, I do have a couple issue. I felt the character of Dr. Chase Meridian was pretty much portraying the same love interest Batman had in the Tim Burton movies, only this time she's more attracted to Batman in a sexual manner. As such she has little to offer in terms of personality. I also felt Commissoner Jim Gordon being relegated to just calling Batman for help was kinda underwhelming. I kinda hoped he would play a bigger part, but I guess not. I also found it odd that Billy Dee Willams was replaced with Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent, leading me to assume Dent had vertigo (a la Michael Jackson). Lastly, I feel Bane falls into the unfortunate category of Adaptation In Name Only because he's basically just Frankenstein's Monster in a mask as opposed to an intelligent tactician with superhuman strength that broke Batman's back.

Still though, I very much enjoy these movies in the most unironic sense possible. Yes, they're cheesy, yes they're outlandish, yes they're over-the-top, but darn it they're still fun. While I respect that Joel Schumacher apologized for disappointing people who expected Batman & Robin to be great, I don't think he felt any shame for making a couple fun movies. Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

Why It Worked: Ed, Edd, n Eddy

Introduction

Ed, Edd, n Eddy was a Canadian-American animated series which ran on Cartoon Network from January 4, 1999-June 24, 2008 before officially concluding with the TV movie, Ed, Edd, n Eddy's Big Picture Show on November 8, 2009. Created by Danny Antonucci, the show features the voice talents of Tony Sampson, Samuel Vincent, Matt Hill, Janyse Jaud, David Paul Grove, Peter Kelamis, Keenan Christenson, Kathleen Barr and Erin Fitzgerald. The show ran for 6 seasons and recieved critical acclaim throughout it's run (boasting a 8.8/10 on TV.com and 7.4/10 on Imdb). Growing up with the show and binging the complete series last week, I definitely consider Ed, Edd, n Eddy to be a classic slapstick cartoon. Today I'd like to talk about why this show still holds up even to this very day.

Premise and Execution

The show revolves around 3 boys scamming kids in a cul-de-sac in order to buy jawbreakers, which in this show are about twice the size of a bowling ball. Episodes typically follow the formula of the Eds coming up with a scam, something going wrong and the Eds suffer the consequences. Each episode uses its premise as a baseline to incorporate excellent slapstick comedy. Some of the funniest episodes are thr ones where the Eds get pulverized, particularly Eddy in the most cartoonish way possible. In addition to slapstick, there's also alot of self-aware humor with characters frequently breaking the fourth wall and acknowledging that they're in a cartoon. The animation for this show is amazing. The character designs are stylized to fit their personalities, right down to their walk cycles. The backgrounds are vibrant and have a 50s cartoon feel to them, and the character animation is loose and perfectly fluid. But the best part of the show as a whole is the amazing voice acting. Everybody gives it 110% and make these characters come alive in their performances.

Characters

The characters themselves offer a lot to like about them and are all memorable in their own way. Starting with Ed, he is one of the best lovable oafs in all of animation. He's so in love with the world and everything in it and his lack of thinking before he acts makes him so funny. Edd, often called Double D in the show, is very much the brains of the main trio as well as the voice of reason. In addition to being exceptionally smart, he's also hilariously awkward and not particularly strong. Then there's Eddy, the conniving prankster and self-appointed leader of the Eds. He's stubborn, greedy and egotistical, yet deep down he does care about his friends, mainly because they're the only ones he's got. The other kids in the cul-de-sac have alot to offer in terms of comedy and personality. Kevin, the neighborhood bully, is often the one who trusts the Eds the least and he relishes in referring to them as "dorks" every chance he gets. Johnny 2x4 is such an oddball because his best is a piece of wood named Plank, yet he's also a pretty funny character and his friendship with Plank feels genuine. Jimmy is such a worry wort and is typically afraid of the Eds, but as the show goes on he becomes more confident and even beomes a con artist himself like Eddy. Then there's Rolf, who stands right next to Ed as the most quotable character in the whole show. His unfamiliarity with American customs makes him relatable to every foreign kid living in America and his commitment to upholding family traditions make him all the more entertaining.

Where It Falters

I deliberately didn't bring up the girls in the show because they're one of the 2 major problems with the show overall. Ed's younger sister, Sarah, is one of the textbook examples of a spoiled brat. She's loud, obnoxious, a kiss up to her parents and the most violent kid in the entire cul-de-sac. The Eds have no choice but to put up with her in every episode because Ed doesn't have the assertive nature of Eddy to tell her to back off. Nazz is the very stereotypical attractive girl and is most certainly the weakest in terms of personality. There are moments where she could've been fleshed out more, but for the most part she might as well be a jawbreaker with hair. Then there are the Kanker sisters, Lee, Marie and May. They problem with the Kankers is that they've very much become a product of a different time. They frequently try to kiss the Eds without their consent, they forced them into "marriage," they made out with them in the girls bathroom and frequently refer to them as their boyfriends despite the Eds frequently wanting nothing to do with them. As a kid, yeah this was funny, but now that we're living in the #MeToo era, this type of humor just doesn't sit well. The other major problem with the show is it's commitment to a limited cast prevented them from introducing new characters to flesh out the world. This is most evident in Season 5 when the kids go back to school and it feels so empty. There's no other students present and all the teachers (and every other adult save for Eddy's brother in the movie) is never shown.  There were a few other problems such as Eddy going too far in some episodes, the episode title not being that memorable (outside of the Ed puns) and Season 6 only containing 1 episode, but it's 2 most egregious crimes are a lack of good female characters and a lack of adults or other characters to flesh out the world.

Conclusion

All and all though, I still very much love this show. Despite lacking female characters and Peach Creek being virtually a ghost town, the show still has great main characters, amazing slapstick, incredible animation and outstanding voice acting. It's a show I frequently find myself quoting and still laugh at the jokes to this day. Thanks so much for reading and I'll see you soon ;)

In Defense of The Police (law enforcement, not the band)

Men and women in law enforcement have always had it rough. Even as far back as 100 years ago, long before N.W.A. released the notorious song, F*** The Police, not everyone respected a man in uniform. This post is going to be more appreciative of the men and women who dedicated their lives to upholding the law while also addressing the egregious abuse of power over the years.

It is important to note that a police officer's job is to enforce the law. This ranges from stopping a speeder on the highway, haulting trespassers from entering a restricted area, making sure people don't jay walk and so on. The police also apprehend criminals who rob a bank, invade someone's home, shoplifting, and break public property among other egregious crimes. If it weren't for the police maintaining order in our society, we'd be no better off than our Neanderthal ancestors.

Often a police officer is of male gender, but law enforcement has been enlisting women to be police since Marie Owens joined the ChicagoPolice Departmentin 1891. Women in law enforcement make up at least 12% of all police officers in America yet are just as vital as their male co-workers. Female police officers are smart, tough, intimidating, and take their jobs very seriously. Despite this though, they are often discriminated and harassed by people with higher authority than them.

A common (and valid) complaint about law enforcement is how they abuse their power to harass innocent bystanders. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a recent phenomenon; in fact it was even commen place by the time N.W.A. spoke up about it. The first use of the term "police brutality" dates all the way back to 1872 when it was reported that a civilian under arrest was beaten at the Harrison Street Police Station. People of minority are often harassed by racism police officers, even when their as innocent as an obedient child. Women, meanwhile are belittled, harassed, and even raped whether they're in uniform or not. The unfortunate reality is there are always going to be people who use their power of authority to oppress others. But it's not all doom and gloom though.

Because we live in a democracy, we have the right to speak up against these atrocities and demand justice for the oppressed. Instances of police brutality is caught on camera and posted on social media, making their abuse of power known to the entire world and thus costing them their job. We're also still living in the #MeToo era of history, thus giving women more confidence to speak up about harassment on the force. Most importantly though, police departments everywhere are more willing to double down on charging those who abuse their power thanks to prominent victims such as Rodney King, Trayvon Martin and most recently George Floyd.

Do not mistake my respect for law enforcement for ignorance or police brutality. At the end of the day, the average police officer is not a racist, sexist, bigoted monster who abuses their power for their own personal gain. The average police is a person who just wants to make sure people are say and obeying the law. In closing, I would like to say thank you to all the men and women in law enforcement for your services. Without you, this country would've fallen apart over a century ago. Keep up the great work; I salute you 🙋‍♂️