Why ‘Batman Forever’ is the Wackiest (and greatest) Blockbuster Ever Made

OK, so I rewatched Batman Forever (1995) for the first time since its theatrical release THIRTY YEARS AGO. It’s been that long since this film — let’s call it a blockbuster — was dropped onto our laps like a rodent-shaped time bomb (the same year as Toy Story and Braveheart).

1995 was a cuckoo-for-cocoa-puffs year: Timothy McVeigh blew up the world, Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” was number-one, the final days of grunge-pop were upon us, ER was the highest-rated show on TV, Brad Pitt (who looked like a sexy burn victim) was People’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” and nobody cared about your mental health, except Hollywood.

IMHO, Batman Forever is era’s boldest and most bombastic blockbuster: a star-studded dark comedy with moments of juvenile exhilaration (e.g., Robin taking the Batmobile for a joyride like his big bro’s super-charged Mustang), Jim Carrey’s hammed-up homoerotic Riddler in lesbian drag (a bold swing for an actor at the height of his commercial powers), disabled Tommy Lee Jones with dissociative identity disorder, Val Kilmer’s trauma-ridden Batman with a nice ass, trauma porn, and BDSM jokes, in a movie for kids.

I giggled, screamed, cringed, struggled with my mental health, texted someone about the shitty puns and double-entendres, posted about Nicole Kidman’s Bond…