Batman & Robin received a chilly reception when George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell’s dynamic duo hit theaters in the summer of 1997. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the toyetic fourth installment in Warner Bros.’ blockbuster Batman franchise saw the caped crusaders kick some ice against a trio of villains — the chilling Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the seductive Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman), and the brutish Bane (Robert “Jeep” Swenson) — a triple threat that required Barbara Gordon (Alicia Silverstone) suiting up as Batgirl to help save Gotham City from a second Ice Age.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The critically panned and commercially disappointing Batman & Robin was the campiest Batman adaptation since Yvonne Craig’s Batgirl joined forces with Adam West and Burt Ward’s dynamic duo in the 1960s television show, which has made the franchise-ending installment something of a cult favorite, according to Silverstone.
“When it came out, I don’t think people liked it very much,” the Clueless star told EW in a career retrospective. “But later on people told me it’s their favorite movie. [At least] all my gay friends. It’s very camp.”
“My goodness. Did you see our outfits? I think we all have big boobies,” she continued, referring to the chiseled, rubber-nippled costumes. “All three of us have boobies. Getting the outfit on took so much time and energy, but once you had it on you couldn’t go to the bathroom. So these were not easy costumes.”
While her role as Batgirl earned Silverstone a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress — as if! — she fondly remembered costarring with E.R. and From Dusk Till Dawn leading man Clooney as “a dream.”
“He really was like a big brother in those circumstances. So cool,” Silverstone said. “He stood up for me and was reasonable when things were not.” (Clooney made a surprise cameo as Bruce Wayne in 2023’s The Flash movie, reprising the role sans Bat-suit.)
Thurman similarly defended Batman & Robin during a 2024 appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “My kids are obsessed with Batman & Robin. They love Poison Ivy,” the Kill Bill star said of her role as the pheromone-powered femme fatale. “It’s the one that was actually made for children.”
But Tim Burton, who helmed 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, took issue with the rubber-nippled Batsuit in a “children’s movie” after backlash over Returns being “too dark” and “weird,” resulting in Schumacher directing 1995’s Batman Forever.
“They went the other way. That’s the funny thing about it,” Burton said in 2022. “But then I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Okay. Hold on a second here. You complain about me, I’m too weird, I’m too dark, and then you put nipples on the costume? Go f— yourself.’ Seriously. So yeah, I think that’s why I didn’t end up [doing a third film].”
The franchise-killing Batman & Robin made $238 million at the global box office, making it the lowest-grossing live-action Batman movie and resulting in Warner Bros. rebooting with Christopher Nolan’s darker and more serious Batman Begins in 2005.
Most Viewed
-
Images Courtesy of Crunchyroll/Studio 4°C -
Image Credit: DC -
Image Credit: DC
