Alicia Silverstone is down to revisit Batgirl role from Batman & Robin

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Might have to file this under something that no one really wants but Alicia Silverstone, who sprung to fame in the mid-90s thanks to the teen classic CLUELESS, is addressing what most might think is a blemish on her filmography: BATMAN & ROBIN.

While speaking with "Collider" to promote her new film BAD THERAPY, Silverstone covered a lot of topics but eventually, the subject turned to the BATMAN film that nearly killed the franchise forever. Alicia Silverstone played Barbara Wilson/Batgirl in the film and one might assume that Silverstone would be less than enthused to revisit the film but the actress actually put a positive spin on her experience making it, particularly working with Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth):

"I mean, I loved all my scenes with Michael Gough. Michael Gough is a dream and I just love that man so much. So, you know, just being with him was incredible and lovely."

Even though it took some thinking from the actress on this next point, she said she would love to revisit the role as the woman she is now as opposed to her time with it in 1997:

"I’m trying to think what else I’d be proud of. I mean, I like it when I get to do the fighting scenes with Uma Thurman. That’s fun. But I’d like to do it all over again as this woman! [Laughs] I think it would be much better now."

It would be easy for her to take a dump on the film because just about everyone else has but kudos to her for taking the high road and being positive about it. While BATMAN & ROBIN was destroyed in 1997, the film has sort of achieved a level of so bad it's good notoriety. Also starring George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O'Donnell, & Uma Thurman, the film was pushed to be more kid-friendly by Warner Bros. in large part to the response pf 1992's BATMAN RETURNS which was deemed a bit too adult by many concerned parents who took their children to see the summer release. Joel Schumacher was brought in to replace Tim Burton, who directed the first two films, and the result was BATMAN FOREVER, which definitely colored things up a bit while still maintaining some of the darker themes of the previous movies. BATMAN FOREVER proved to be more financially successful than BATMAN RETURNS so Warner Bros. doubled down on making BATMAN & ROBIN even more appealing to children and the film was ultimately turned into a 2-hour toy commercial that drew its inspiration from the campy 1960s television series. The film bombed with critics and audiences, and became the lowest-grossing BATMAN film to date, bringing in $107.3 million at the domestic box office. The franchise wouldn't be redeemed into Christopher Nolan began his now-iconic DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY with 2005's BATMAN BEGINS.

BATMAN & ROBIN isn't good but it is campy fun. I'm sure it wasn't made to be mocked but time turns certain films into cult favorites for a variety of reasons and I'd argue that even BATMAN & ROBIN has its fans who aren't ashamed to admit they enjoy it.

What are YOUR thoughts on BATMAN & ROBIN?