Alter Egos

I have only one wish regarding this movie. In my opinion, I would have liked a bigger budget for the costumes. But, that is not to say that this movie was anything other than flawless just the way it was. A little humor, a good story and an excellent cast for an intimate tale of identity loss and reclamation. Love lost and found, jealousy, and redemption. In the end, whomever was responsible for this will undoubtedly have a future in film making. Bravo ! Or, as a no longer fat man in an overcoat might say,

It's a lot like Wes Anderson's Bottle Rocket, only set in the northeast, with down-and-out superheroes and less than super powers. Not-so-superhero Fridge clings to his super identity even though the world has moved beyond him and his ilk. He and fellow traveler C-Thru are temporarily holed-up at a Hampton Bays inn, tasked with nothing less than reviving the fortunes of the underfunded SuperCorp superheroes collective. But Fridge is more concerned with his relationship problems and the charming desk clerk. The whole thing is winningly underplayed and sincere. It could almost work as a modest stage comedy.

This Indie movie hopefully won't confuse anyone simply because it concerns superheroes, it is definitely on the small-scale and personal side. That does not mean it is a bad movie and it uses the superhero genre to explore different sides of personal relationships, but if you are expecting epic action to any degree then look away.

There are probably other ways you could have told this story, but the colourful costumes and dry wit of the situations work well together and creates an enjoyable atmosphere. Perhaps the best part of the superhero structure used here is that the main character's confusion over his own identity. Not only is it compelling, but it makes him diverse and both likable and dislikeable at the same time, avoiding the trap of creating a bland avatar or annoying totem to preach from.

Overall this is an enjoyable movie that is hard to classify as any one genre, I will say that there is more romance and comedy than drama or action, although it has smatterings of all four. I would recommend this movie for a casual watch as it is enjoyable, but doesn't really have any stand-out moments to make you rush out and see it right away.

Alter Egos comes at you with the full understanding that you are a comic shop/scifi type person from the very start. For the niche who this film was presumably made for, it has everything and the kitchen sink. However, for others who aren't in the same social spaces most of the movie may fall flat or seem tedious or just out-right silly.

The actors/staff/crew did amazing jobs considering the very low budget of this film.

TLDR; In-joke movie only appeals to very specific fans.

... and of course everything is left open-ended so perhaps we shall receive a sequel!

I'm on two sides of the fence with this film. On one side I wanted to love it and enjoy the indie style of storytelling, but on the other it never delivered. I feel as a comic book fan this was fun and unique. It attempts little and that's not the problem, it's the pacing. Uneven and a lot of the attempted jokes fall flat. There was a better film available, but it feels a little flat. Good cast, but a fast love storyline and poorly developed story beats hurts the film. Fun enough to recommend for fans, but it's not the anti hero film we deserved.