Marlon Wayons showcases what would happen if Steve Urkel was Batman in this 90’s comedy.
Darryl and Kevin Walker were raised by their grandmother in Chicago. While Kevin was your typical kid growing up, his brother Darryl was eccentric, dorky, and technically brilliant. Their only common ground was their love for their grandmother who was raising them and their favorite television series, 1966’s Batman. The two would wind up living with their grandmother into their adulthood, with Kevin working at a local news outlet while Darryl spent the majority of his time creating unconventional inventions in an effort to make their lives a little easier. When tragedy strikes, and their grandmother is taken from them before her time, the brothers make separate vows. Kevin wants to climb the ranks at his job, and Darryl wants to use his gadgets to make the world a better place just like his childhood hero from TV.
The story comes to us from Marlon Wayons, who came up with the idea for Blankman after seeing 1989’s Batman, starring Michael Keeton. Marlon had grown up with the Adam West Batman series, and was a little heartbroken to see that the character was going down a dark path. His idea was to bring the slapstick, goofy, fun from the 60’s series to a 90’s audience while swapping out a billionaire playboy for a lower class citizen. Wayons, who plays Darryl / Blankman, wrote the script with J.F. Lawton. Lawton’s previous work was nothing like this project and included the likes of 1990’s Pretty Woman, and the 1992 action flick, Under Siege. For Wayons, Blankman was more comedy for the sake of comedy and it came after a successful run of projects such as Earth Girls are Easy, In Living Color, and Mo’ Money. He had also been a writer for 91’sThe Best of Robert Townsend & His Partners in Crime, which I find amusing since Peter Townsend played Meteor Man just one year before Blankman hit theaters which makes Townsend the parody of Superman to Wayon’s parody of Batman. A cross-over we can only dream about…
Marlon is joined by David Alan Grier as his brother Kevin. Grier had a long work history with Marlon, with over a hundred episodes of In Living Color to his credit. The two are joined by the film’s love interest, Kimberly Jonz, played by Robin Givens. Givens, who’s career is worthy of an article all its own, must have enjoyed her time playing a Lois Lane type. She would later join the cast of the CW’s Batwoman show. Other noteworthy appearances include Jon Polito, who appeared in The Crow the same year as Blankman, and Jason Alexander who we all remember as George Costanza from Seinfeld. Alexander had previously worked with J.F. Lawton on Pretty Woman, Everyone knew everyone from a prior project, and the synergy shows it. There isn’t a single person on screen who wasn’t enjoying their time on set, which helps when your project is as overtly silly as Blankman tends to be.
The film’s narrative places Blankman against Jon Polito’s mobster character, Michael ‘The Suit’ Minelli. Minelli is responsible for the slaying of Darryl and Kevin’s grandmother, who was struck down by the mob while volunteering on the campaign trail for Chicago’s new mayor. When the mayor refuses to bend the knee to organized crime, things escalate, motivating Darryl Walker to dawn his home-made costume, seek out a hidden base, and utilize his inventions to bring Chicago’s crime to its knees. Blankman isn’t utilizing boomerangs, smoke bombs, or grappling hooks, but brings an eclectic assortment of gadgets on every patrol. His gear is reminiscent of comedic inventors seen in previous projects, with his home featuring haphazardly assembled kitchen tech like what we saw in Pee Wee Herman’s home during his big adventure. He has a robot named J-5 that looks like something Steven Urkel would have terrorized his neighbors with in Family Matters. Ke Huy Quan’s gizmos used by Data in The Goonies are also a prime example of what kind of “tech” Blankman brings to the table. And, despite their cheesy nature, all of Darryl’s gear is crucial to saving the day in this family friendly comedy.
I found myself laughing more than initially expected to while sitting through this movie. Much like how I felt after watching Peter Townsend as Meteor Man, I feel as though Marlon Wayons’ Blankman is widely overlooked and I aim to fix that among my small social group. There’s definitely a Meteor Man / Blankman double feature brewing for a future movie night in this household. Anyone looking to watch this silly gem can find it streaming on Tubi, or they can otherwise pick it up digitally. Though I recommend tracking down a physical copy just in case the digital rights slip away.