The legendary director Joel Schumacher passed away on Monday at the age of 80 after a yearlong battle with cancer. Schumacher leaves behind a cinematic legacy littered with a wide variety of unforgettable films that were incredibly popular and left an undeniable impact on pop culture, but were also often derided by critics. His take on Batman in the mid-’90s, with “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin,” was colorful, campy, kooky and knowingly cartoonish. Critics disliked the films, but they were box office behemoths, and imprinted on the psyche of a generation of millennials.
Both “Batman Forever” and “Batman & Robin” are available to stream on HBO Max or for a $3.99 rental on Amazon or iTunes. The films are a hoot, just a blast of pure, neon-hued energy and heavily winking humor, a far cry from the dark and gritty superhero turns we saw in the 2000s. “Batman Forever” features Val Kilmer in the titular role, Chris O’Donnell as his trusty trapeze artist sidekick Robin, and an iconic Nicole Kidman as love interest Dr. Chase Meridian. Everyone understands the campy, over-the-top excitement assignment, especially Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey, who deliver high-level performances of pure buffoonery as villains Two-Face and The Riddler, respectively. In “Batman & Robin,” George Clooney dons the rubber mantle, and Alicia Silverstone comes along for a ride as Batgirl, while Uma Thurman wows as Poison Ivy and Arnold Schwarzenegger gives us the chills as Mr. Freeze.
Schumacher was born and raised in New York City, a streetwise city kid who went on to attend Parsons School of Design and design window displays for Henri Bendel. He was the toast of NYC nightlife and the fashion world in the ’70s, palling around with the designer Halston (Schumacher appears in the 2019 documentary “Halston” on Amazon Prime), and started out as a costume designer on films such as “The Last of Sheila” ($3.99 on Amazon and YouTube).
His directorial debut was the 1981 Lily Tomlin-starring family comedy “The Incredible Shrinking Woman” ($3.99 on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Vudu), but Schumacher is best known for his films that defined the ’80s, like “The Lost Boys” ($3.99 on Amazon, iTunes, YouTube, Vudu), one of the coolest and most stylish vampire movies ever made. Schumacher had an incredible eye for casting. He essentially created “the Coreys,” casting both Corey Haim and Corey Feldman in the film, as well as giving Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric breakout starring roles, and creating iconic characters and imagery in this Santa Cruz-set vampire beach movie.