Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 1994
Blankman
Buy Blankman now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'Blankman' is a 1994 American superhero comedy parody film directed by Mike Binder and starring Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier. It was written by Wayans and J. F. Lawton.
Plot
As kids, Darryl and Kevin Walker grew up as fans of the television series 'Batman'. Now grown up, Darryl is a clumsy, nerdy repairman, while his brother Kevin is a tabloid news cameraman. They both live with their Grandma Walker, who is an avid supporter of Alderman Marvin Harris' anti-corruption mayoral campaign, as evidenced by Harris publicly refusing a bribe from mobster Michael "The Suit" Minelli. Kevin is interested in getting out of making tabloids and doing a serious story about Minelli, but attempts to do so are shot down by his boss, Larry Stone, a perverted tabloid news junkie. Darryl is overly optimistic, almost child-like naive to the harsh realities of living in the inner-city (such as the crackhouse next door), but is a brilliant inventor: having a robot assistant named J-5, and with one of his experiments accidentally allowing him to create bulletproof clothing. One night, their Grandma is murdered by Minelli's henchmen; the murder is what opens Darryl's eyes to the urban decay all around him. He begins to fight crime by boldly saving an elderly transit passenger from being mugged, but makes a dumb mistake storming the crackhouse next door to rebuke the gang members. He then decides to become a vigilante superhero, using his technical expertise to create weapons and gadgets for his crime-fighting crusade, all under the annoyance of Kevin.
After Darryl is nearly killed trying to protect a citizen on the street, and is arrested by the cops who ridiculed him after he demanded to see the police commissioner, Kevin takes Darryl to see a psychiatrist. It doesn't work in Kevin's favor, as Darryl denies being a superhero, and puts the blame on Kevin, whom the psychiatrist then attempts to psychoanalyze. Kevin changes his mind and goes along with the fantasy, believing that it's Darryl's way to cope with the murder of their grandmother, but under the guidance of starting a neighborhood watch instead. When a girl tells them of a pregnant woman trapped in an elevator, Darryl arrives as his superhero alter-ego. Upon delivering the baby, he is surrounded by many, including reporters. Asking for his name, Darryl just stares; Kevin says he's gone blank, to which everyone interprets this as his name: Blankman.
Over time, Darryl uses his Blankman identity to protect various community members, build up a reputation, and inspire both the town's citizens and other real-life superheroes. One person interested in him is Kimberly Jonz, a fellow reporter that Kevin hopes to win the affection of. When Kimberly wants to know if it's possible to get an interview with Blankman, Kevin begs Darryl to allow her to interview him. He relents, on the condition that she wear a carnation. Taking her on his Blank-Cycle at the train tracks, he brings her to his secret hideout: The Blank Station, an abandoned subway station filled with all of his inventions, or in his words, junk. Kimberly interviews him about how and why he took up crime fighting, revealing it was because of the death of his grandmother. Impressed by his heroics and modesty, Kimberly immediately falls in love with him. She kisses him, only for him to panic when his gets an erection.
Mayor Harris attempts to bring in outside money to pay the IOUs the city has been giving its workers, and requests that Blankman be there to protect the people and receive a special award. As the money is released, Minelli's henchmen storm the bank and take the mayor hostage, threatening to detonate explosives. At the police chief's request and the crowd's chants, Blankman attempts to save the mayor; even with Kevin's help, he is unable to stop the crooks, nor defuse the bombs. Before the bombs go off and the Mayor along with it, Darryl reveals his identity and his grandmother's support for the Mayor. Mayor Harris wishes him well, warning him to run and says he will tell his grandmother about Darryl. Blankman runs out screaming as the bank explodes, killing Harris. The crowd, seeing his failure, turned on him and chased him down the street. With the city hating him, Darryl gives up on crime fighting and even a possible relationship with Kimberly. Trying for a normal life, he gets a job at a McDonald's.
Wanting a great story, Larry Stone manages to contact Minelli and trades knowledge of Blankman's love for Kimberly in exchange for an exclusive interview. In the midst of doing research on Minelli and Darryl's grandmother's death, Kimberly realizes his true identity and calls Kevin with the news, only for Minelli to take Kimberly hostage. Thinking he is talking to Blankman, Minelli threatens to kill Kimberly if Blankman doesn't show up. Kevin rushes to Darryl's workplace with the news, but Darryl refuses to help until Kevin reveals Minelli killed their grandmother. They leave and change to their superhero identities: Blankman, and with Kevin agreeing to wear a costume himself, the "Other Guy". The two heroes rush to the TV station, where Minelli has murdered a reporter and is threatening others, including Stone. The two engage in a fight with Minelli's goons, but they lose. They are placed in a water tank and left to drown, with Stone and Kimberly chained up and left to die, and Minelli having hidden bombs to destroy the building. Blankman calls J-5 to save them, and succeeds. The duo then finds the bombs in the women's bathroom, and stuffs the explosives inside J-5, while he frees Kimberly (Stone is left behind, as a joke by Other Guy). Once outside, the explosives detonate, destroying J-5. Distraught, Blankman swears revenge.
Tracking Minelli to his factory hideout, Blankman and Other Guy prepare for the final battle. Other Guy is overconfident and gets wounded, because his costume is not bulletproof. Blankman then defeats Minelli's goons with his electric "newchucks", and activates his jet-powered roller blades to capture Minelli, delivering him to the police and finally avenging their grandmother's death. Blankman, this time with Other Guy, is once again acknowledged as a hero by the people, and receives the Mayor Harris Award for outstanding community service at a ceremony in their honor, while Other Guy receives a Blankman T-shirt, much to Kevin's disgust. After the ceremony, Kevin introduces Kimberly to Darryl. The two make light conversation, until Kimberly pretends to see a purse snatcher, which puts Darryl on high alert. It was actually a trick, as Kimberly reveals she already knows that Darryl is Blankman; to prove it, she kisses Darryl, causing him to fall to the ground embarrassingly like before. The film ends with a shot of a banner that reads "We Love You Blankman... and the Other Guy".
Cast
* Damon Wayans as Darryl Walker/Blankman, a nerdy, gullible manchild. He decides to become a superhero in order to turn his neighborhood around. His best friend is a homemade robot, "J-5".
** Michael Wayans as Young Darryl
* David Alan Grier as Kevin Walker/Other Guy, Darryl's cynical older brother, who works as a cameraman for the local news. He initially has no interest in being a superhero, but later has a change of heart and joins Darryl as his sidekick, Other Guy. He shows himself to be a natural martial artist after helping defend Darryl in his first outing as Blankman.
** Damon Wayans Jr. as Young Kevin
* Jon Polito as Michael "The Suit" Minelli, a suave, malicious, and mean-spirited mobster, who constantly harasses Mayor Harris. He is also responsible for the death of Darryl and Kevin's grandmother, Eleanor Walker.
* Robin Givens as Kimberly Jonz, a TV news anchor and the love interest of both Darryl and Kevin. While she has no interest in Kevin, she falls in love with Blankman/Darryl almost instantly.
* Jason Alexander as Larry Stone, Kimberly and Kevin's selfish, perverted, and hotheaded boss. He uses a wheelchair.
* Lynne Thigpen as Eleanor Walker, Darryl and Kevin's late grandmother. Despite being a loving grandmother, she has a smart mouth, which ultimately leads to her doom.
* Christopher Lawford as Mayor Marvin Harris
* Nick Corello as Sammy the Blade, Minelli's right-hand man and the assassin who kills Grandma Walker.
* Harris Peet as Commissioner Gains
*Arsenio Hall as himself
*Tony Cox as Midget Man
Reception
'Blankman' received negative reviews from critics and was a box office disappointment. It holds a 12% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 3.8/10.
Year-end lists
* Top 10 worst (not ranked) Betsy Pickle, 'Knoxville News-Sentinel'
* Top 18 worst (alphabetically listed, not ranked) Michael Mills, 'The Palm Beach Post'
* Worst films (not ranked) Jeff Simon, 'The Buffalo News'
References
Buy Blankman now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 1994