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At this point, I
don’t know if “Bum Man” is so good that it seems bad, or it’s so bad
that it’s good, but even in spite of the ridiculous title, Floyd Jones’
superhero comedy is quite entertaining. When a film is this bad I
normally turn it off halfway, but I was rather surprised to find myself
sitting through the decently paced tongue in cheek adventure that never
really takes itself seriously. Made for $3000 dollars, Jones’s film has
editing problems, terrible special effects, shocking continuity
problems, and most of the actors seem to have trouble remembering their
lines. And yet I sat through the whole thing! And I enjoyed it in spite
of the crap flinging at me. And no you’re not alone in comparing this to
“Hancock” as even director Jones points the similarities in the press
kit.
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“Bum Man”
chronicles the misadventures of an alien named—well—Bum Man
who is kicked off his planet by the grand council because he
just wants to lay around and drink. When he lands on Earth,
he finds his calling as a hobo and inadvertently becomes a
superhero when he discovers Earth’s atmosphere grants him
super abilities. At barely eighty minutes, “Bum Man” knows
when to call it quits and doesn’t demand a lot from his
audience. |
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The
pace is brisk with a story in the vein of Superman, and with the
slick use of public domain footage, brings much of the disasters to
the feet of Bum Man. And as such this reflects on the film where the
gags are always funny enough to where Jones never pushes for laughs.
There’s a mumbling hobo with her own language, and the crazed life
of Diane Zane, Jones’ Lois Lane who happens to cross paths with Bum
Man in the middle of a rescue one day. Actress Sharly is the stand
out as the humorous Zane, a struggling reporter handed cheesy human
interest stories, also playing her hand at damsel in distress with
keen comedic prowess. Anthony Hinch is also entertaining as Bum Man,
taking every advantage to be disgusting and repulsive, but heroic in
the process. I just wish I knew why the villain’s sidekick is a hand
puppet.
Hey, I love
superhero movies and you have to appreciate a director who tries to
break the normal superhero doldrums and origin stories to strive for
something different. And boy is “Bum Man” different. So bad it’s good,
it takes the Superman story and twists it in to a funny, cringe inducing
little bastard child that also happens to be a work of love.
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