MovieChat Forums > Supergirl (1984) Discussion > How can anyone like this??

How can anyone like this??


I was a 70s kid who grew up watching the Superman movies. I even remember watching The Adventures of Superman on TV. I'm pretty fair when it comes to judging a movie. And as gorgeous as Helen Slater was in that movie, she had no appeal as a Super Hero. And clearly the Salkins rushed this piece of garbage film just to profit from the hype. Because its the worst script. The worst actors. Awful direction. It just plain sucks. There's no other way to put it. When ya gotta throw Jimmy Olsen in there to tie it to another successful film you end up with nothing but a SUCKcessful instead. LOL. Sorry. But I tried watching this thing again today. And WOW. Its more boring now than before.

reply

A little too unkind.

The script was written to have Christopher Reeve appear as Superman, and it was he who was sent to the Phantom Zone. Supergirl goes to rescue him. You can sense traces of this in the unanswered questions that linger - and with Zaltar being in the phantom zone and not Kal-El. The original concept was a winner. Reeve dropped out at the 11th hour and they didn't have time to write a completely new script, so they tweaked the original as best they could.

A little something that most audiences wouldn't know - When you have a set date for a picture's release - you usually can NOT change it. And if major changes happen during production, you better be prepared to deal with it. See the drama behind "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" for further reference on that.

As for the rest - the picture was a product of it's time. And guess what? Things, points of view, they all change. Now that we have so many Marvel-verses, and DC-Verses, and intertwining comic books AND characters, everybody is easy for even those of us who grew up in the 70s to comment negatively on how we now see art as opposed to before. "Supergirl" is by no means a masterpiece, but it holds firm in the canon of the Salkind films, and in most people's minds (and some of us' hearts, too). If the film had been produced a slight earlier, it might have worked better, who knows. However, Helen Slater will always be the only REAL Supergirl that many remember. Melissa Benoist is cute and I congratulate her on her success - but times have changed and the cultural impact is different - and her impact is different thusly.

You obviously took the time to come here and diss it, did you not? I'd say it has you in it's grip no matter how you feel. Any film worth it's salt will do this - which you have just proven "Supergirl" certainly is.



reply

Yep. I never understand the fools who go to a page just to troll a movie's fans. Why don't they go lambast a REALLY stupid film, like "Con Air". LOL Oops. Sorry ... Con Air fans. ;-)

reply

To the original OP - because it's entertaining and some of us (with actual taste in movies) would dare say it's good, at least to some extents.

reply

I didn't like it, I loved it!

reply

So why don't you marry it?!

reply

Some of us love it precisely because it's awful. It's superhero camp.Peter O'Toole, Faye Dunaway, Brenda Vacarro, and Peter Cook all overact wildly and don't take it too seriously. I never miss it when it comes on one of the streaming channels.

reply

I hated it back in the 1980s, but I suppose I should give it another go one of these days.

Now that I'm older, I might appreciate the camp sensibility more, because no modern actor brings unintentional camp like La Dunaway!

reply

One day after our exchange above, I noticed HBOMAX just added Supergirl to their library. Dunaway is definitely the most entertaining in the cast and really hams it up. I can't stand almost all superhero films but I give a pass to the Salkind ones. Supergirl remains silly fun and it still cracks me up. .

reply

Definitely not getting HBO Max just for that!

I wonder if it's on youtube...

reply

Nostalgia. And Helen Slater was hot.

reply

That was back when they cast gorgeous women in the roles to make them unforgettable, and I must say that I've never forgotten about Supergirl.

I loved this movie... I used to watch it all the time (I don't think I've seen it in several decades, though).

I've been thinking about it recently and I might re-watch it at some point. In any case, it's quite telling how today's feminism has made it a goal in Hollywood to put the most forgettable faces in iconic roles and then accuse straight, white males of not supporting said schlop because anyone with a brain would prefer that if they're going to waste time on a bad movie it better be visually captivating, have good action, a charismatic lead, or hot chicks in it.

reply

🙄

reply

*shrugs* I'd argue they still cast gorgeous women in superhero roles.

reply

Damn right they do!

reply