There a lot of reasons to not be a big fan of Batman & Robin. Fans of Tim Burton's grim aesthetic from 1989's Batman and the follow up Batman Returns, didn't care for the more colorful and humorous and back to basics take on the character from new director Joel Schumacher. And Batman & Robin takes all of that colorful nonsense to an extreme level. However, while fans may have had their differences with the movie, it turns out that actress Alicia Silverstone did as well.
In a recent interview Batgirl actress Alicia Silverstone talked about the experience that came after filming Batman & Robin, which included a lot of unnecessary public discussion of her weight. However, Silverstone also admitted there that the production of the movie itself wasn't a lot of fun. Speaking with our own Reelblend podcast, Silverstone explained more about what it was about the experience that kept it from being fun, and it wasn't all the uncomfortable costume. According to Silverstone...
I can’t say that it was that much fun. I love George Clooney, and I had such a good experience with him. He was so sweet to me, and kind. Really protected me and took care. Lovely. And I loved – I LOVED – Michael Gough, the man who played Alfred. He was a dream, and he and I had such a good relationship. I care about him so much. But, aside from that, it wasn’t like the deepest acting experience of my career. It’s more technical. It’s really more… a lot of it is really, ‘Look over there and throw something.’ Where am I looking? What am I looking at? What am I throwing? [laughs] And that’s not really that inspiring. You know that I mean? … You have to put the suit on. The suit is so uncomfortable. And I was young! I don’t know. I wonder how I would feel now? But at 18, putting that suit on and not knowing what the heck I was doing, I can’t say it was that fun. And it came at a time in my life when people were being very unkind. So I think it was just not the best experience, but it wasn’t terrible. Luckily, I was fine. But it’s not up there with my David Mamet or Kenneth Branagh!
It wasn't all bad news. Alicia Silverstone says that she loved working with the likes of George Clooney. However, it seems that, in addition to finding the costume uncomfortable, Silverstone just didn't find the acting in the movie particularly satisfying. She makes it clear that Batman & Robin was far from the worst experience she's ever had, but it wasn't the best either. Of course, when you're comparing things to working with David Mamet or Kenneth Branagh, the bar is pretty high.
It seems Alicia Silverstone just didn't care for the more action focused filmmaking that comes with making a superhero movie. And Batman & Robin, it has to be said, leaned harder than most into the true meaning of the term "comic book." A lot of the dialogue is intentionally melodramatic or, in the case of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze, just plain silly. Shakespeare, it is not.
You can hear the complete Alicia Silverstone interview with Reelblend below.
As Alicia Silverstone herself says, she might have a very different feeling about making a movie like Batman & Robin now than she did when she was 18. She hasn't made many big budget movies like that since, but perhaps she'll get a chance to have more fun in a superhero movie somewhere down the road.
