Film of the Week: Superbob

Filmed in Peckham over 19 days, this 2015 low-budget British film about a postman who develops superpowers after getting hit by a meteorite was surprisingly emotionally sturdy. Superbob’s filmmakers’ intentions were to make a film that showcased superheroes in a different way, and that’s exactly what I received. Filmed as if it were a real life documentary, we meet Bob (Brett Goldstein) who was gifted with powers by a meteorite that hit him when it crashed to Earth. As is traditional when it comes to many superhero films that try and showcase the genre in a different way, the main character is bestowed with all the powers Superman have - flight, invulnerability, laser vision, fast running, and X-ray vision. We see a small montage of Bob using his powers at the beginning of the film, but it doesn’t heavily focus on him being a superhero. We do see him perform an heroic act at a scene of a tragic car accident, and few instances of flight and strength, but the film mainly focuses on him being an ordinary, awkward person who just wants to go on a date.

He’s definitely overshadowed by his celebrity lifestyle, but the documentary-style film does give us something different, an ordinary man who has powers. At the beginning we see him not at all confident at standing up for himself, and he’s definitely not good at public speaking, but at the end, he manages to say “no” to his boss, quit the UK government and go freelance, becoming a true superhero, whilst maintaining an ordinary life with the woman who he realises he has fallen in love with, his cleaner, Dorris and goes and life a happy life in Columbia.

Superbob is quintessentially British through and through, which enforces the intention to give the impression that Bob is just another ordinary day trying to enjoy his mandatory day off and have an ordinary date with June (Laura Haddock).

Brett’s and Natalia’s chemistry allowed their characters - a socially awkward mild-mannered person and a confident cleaner who begrudgingly acted as his girlfriend to make his mum happy for the afternoon - kept the film fresh every time they were together. And by the end of the film, I was giving into the emotional rollercoaster that came with Bob finding his confidence and his feelings for Dorris.

Catherine Tate does a phenomenal job as Bob's boss, Theresa Ford, who allowed the filmmakers to make the documentary to showcase how normal Bob really is, and tried to keep things operational. She was just doing her job, and kept her feet on the ground. It’s easy to put her in the category of being a villain, and whilst she does call Bob in on his day off and manipulates his date into helping her all for political points does allude to being Bob’s archenemy in the film, Catherine’s character was really trying to keep things mutual being Britain and the USA, who were the ones to send Dorris away so that Bob cannot be seen with anyone other than June, a British person. The unexpected complexity of Theresa Ford’s character keeps the film from being too normal, and allows the superhero genre back into the everyday that the documentary tries to highlight.

Ultimately it is a superhero film, but essentially, it’s a touching comedy about a guy who just wants to have a day off.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)