I was a huge fan of In Living Color (1990) and have always had an appreciation for the comedic minds on that show, following several of them into their budding movie careers, so when I discovered there was a film with David Alan Grier and Damon Wayans that looked somewhat inspired by his Handi-Man superhero character from the show, I was in. Simply because we have some elements of a good thing, however, doesn’t always mean that success is guaranteed, and in the case of 1994’s Blankman, the naivety of youth is probably where this “comedy classic” should have resided.
What if we did an inept superhero but used it as an homage to Batman ’66? Damon is genuinely a fan, as shows like the old Adam West adventures and Green Hornet (1966) helped to fuel his childhood imagination. Blankman not only shows a snippet from the show, but it also has the stylish logo transitions, overly complicated death traps, similar dialog, and that familiar onomatopoeia: pow, smack, splat, crash, and a lot of Aghhhhhhhh! It shows Batman ’66 some respect, and I like that, but it takes out some of the charm and tries to replace it with a raunchier tinge (just look at his gadgets or how he points at most things), doing Bruce Wayne if he were broke and lived in the inner city.
“Slap me around and call me Susan.”
“You’ll believe a man can fly” when you hear the sound he makes after getting slapped.
Darryl (Wayans) and Kevin (Grier) Walker are two completely opposite brothers on different paths of life, held together by the fact that they still live together under the guidance of their wisecracking grandmother, Eleanor Walker (Lynne Thigpen). Kevin has a steady job, co-workers, and sneaks girls into the apartment when he thinks grandma doesn’t know, while Darryl is less developed and doesn’t do well at his job as an appliance repairman – but at least his boss is the Micro Machines Man – and is just incredibly awkward in general. When their grandmother is murdered, Darryl decides to do his part to stop crime with bulletproof fabric, incredible odd gadgets, and the guidance he learned from those old superhero shows. He even has a slick vehicle known as the Blank-wheel and a robot inspired by Short Circuit (1986), J-5, all quite impressive, seeing as the only way he can seemingly fix his glasses is with a fork.
That’s the basic story, but some of the side characters are way more interesting. I love Lynne Thigpen. She’ll always be my Chief from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, and her snappy comebacks here are another humorous side with dick jokes that we all knew was there. The real crime is that she isn’t in the movie more. We have Robin Givens (Head of the Class, Batwoman) as Kimberly Jonz, who acts as the love interest for both brothers and our Lois Lane, trying to get the interview with Blankman and making him orgasm with a single kiss. She and Wayans almost have some good chemistry here. The main antagonist is Michael “The Suit” Minelli, played by Jon Polito (The Crow), who gives a lot here but comes across as an upset, petty child and just misses the mark of that classic over-the-top villain they were close to parodying. Jason Alexander, however, plays Kevin and Kimberly’s boss, Mr. Stone. Now this is a man with a dark side, who believes the truth is made by those who write it, and proves he’s willing to step on anyone to get the story, maybe he should have been the secret final boss. Sadly, no matter how cruel he is, Stone’s character is mostly played for wheelchair jokes, a bit of perversion, and a bad bald cap.
The movie contains other notable faces and quirky performances, but the cast isn’t the issue. The truth is that I found myself laughing at more of these jokes and interactions than I thought I would all these years later. Scenes like when Blankman is showing Kimberly the lair or his first outings as a crime fighter are entertaining, and I chuckled at the slightly more juvenile elements, like a kiss being his kryptonite, making our hero nut uncontrollably, but the story as a whole is weak and missing something. The first half of the movie is better than the back end, and most of the solid bits are in the characters’ everyday lives, but once it comes time to get down to business and both brothers don their horrible costumes, the shine fades fast.
I like the little details in this more than anything in the overall story, like how J-5 is reprogrammed with a SEGA Genesis and cartridges, or when Kevin accidentally says Darryl’s name before the horrible way they come up with Blankman and his brother reassures him no one knows who he is. I made notes about items on the psychologist’s (who happens to be the film’s director) desk and ways to fill in plot holes because that was more intriguing to me. I just think this works better as a skit than a full idea, and that sucks because, by all reports, they had a blast making this movie, and it did not do well in theaters. In fairness, Wayan’s movies have always been a bit hit or miss, and his best work is in The Last Boy Scout (1991).
“He’s just a little McMad right now.”
The script for Blankman started as a version of Fartman, the Howard Stern character, but writer J.F. Lawton had to rethink the idea when that project fell apart and ended up working with Wayans to create something different but in a similar tone. The new approach was for the movie to keep its humor and lewdness but be overall positive, having a message about how everyone can stand up and be a hero in their own way. It’s a goofy story, but one that attempts to sneak in a small bit of substance at its core, notions that apply to many viewers. I’m not sure if it did that necessarily well, but it is there.
The black superhero genre has always had a powerful underground push, especially in the ‘90s, and many in the community appreciate Blankman’s spirit and its portrayal of an early black nerd. Darryl is an interesting character who comes across as an excitable man-child, someone we would now likely say is on the spectrum, an obsessive inventor with extreme neuroses who doesn’t understand most social interactions. It’s an aspect of the film Wayans wasn’t eager to expand on, but that fits perfectly in the world and tone they’ve established. The music sounds dumb at first, but there are some interesting names on the soundtrack and these lyrics are somewhat poignant with the underlying social issues and deeper themes of the narrative, however, the score in a few scenes makes me think this could easily be recut as a horror movie.
Kevin mockingly refers to Darryl as Urkel, followed by a “Did I do that?” later in the film. I respect most things that evoke Family Matters, but this felt like a comedic movie trying to make us think it was as good as one of the masters. Strangely, I knew Blankman had truly reached cult status when I saw it featured in an episode of Twisted Metal (2023). I’m not saying that’s how most creators know when they’ve made it, but it’s surely a way to tell that your work left an impression. To be remembered by anyone in such a way is to be loved by at least one person—or something like that. This movie is constantly compared to The Meteor Man (1993), perhaps somewhat unfairly. Blankman attempted to stand on its own, to be the comedic Batman of that time, and leave us with several good laughs, but all these years later, it has a few dedicated fans, and for everyone else, it’s just shooting blanks.
