Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt

Talk about surreal? Yowza!

The Misadventures Of Adam and Burt is a genuine hoot, mixing (confusing?) the real-life Adam West and Burt Ward with the public persona others have of Adam West and Burt Ward and also with that of the legendary television characters they've never been able shake, Batman and Robin.

The appearance of Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether (both played Catwoman) and Frank Gorshin (the Riddler), playing parts other than their legendary villain roles (or are they?), adds to the surreal fun.

Co-executive producer Dawn Wells (MaryAnn on "Gilligan's Island") has done some interesting things the past few years, but this is her creme de la creme.

Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt is loopy, goofy off-the-wall fun and deserves true cult status. I hope cable picks it up and airs it every now and then. I loved it!

This wild, wooley and wacky look back at the evolution of the 1960's camp classic is a lighthearted romp through a lot of memories for fans of the series, as well as an interesting expose for those who were unaware of the true lives of the stars.

Hosted by the originals, Adam West and Burt Ward, their hunt for a missing Batmobile (George Barris' 1955 Ford Futura), is filled with rememberances of the lives of the dynamic duo in and out of their tights. The plot is peppered with actual Batlore, including Mickey Rooney's turning down the part of The Penguin, Lyle Waggoner's original screen test as the Dark Knight, et al.

Appearences by Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar, Lee Meriweather help round out the cast that are superbly lead by West and Ward, taking a step backwards from ego and attitudes and goofing it up with the rest of the gang, with great impersonations of younger versions of West, Ward, Gorshin, Burgess Merideth, Meriweather, Vincent Price, Yvonne Craig and a Ceaser Romero Joker that will knock your socks off.

Another amazing bit of trivia is that Dawn Wells, "Mary Ann" of Gilligan's Island fame was an executive producer for the show.

There are many kinds of reunion shows. One kind is where old actors are taken out of mothballs and set to recreate characters they haven't played for twenty or thirty years. These have mixed results. `Return to Mayberry', despite some silliness, was okay; `Return to Green Acres' as execrable (Eddie Albert used a word for the script I won't repeat here, but both it and the movie stink); `Rescue from Gilligan's Island' filled in a necessary gap in the story of the castaways, though the show itself was silly even from a `Gilligan's Island' viewpoint. In most cases, the scripts are weak; sometimes a silliness appears in the scripts that is too knowing – and in comedy it's nearly always fatal for the characters to know they're being funny. New characters are introduced who don't fit the mix. In the main, these reunion shows are pretty weak. A second sort of `reunion' show is the kind where the cast lays its past aside but sits around, telling stories, reminiscing, interspersed with flashbacks from the shows. Then there are movies based on the shows, which are rarely good; and movies based on the history of the show (`The Brady Bunch' has had both of these happen to it, with various results).

`Return to the Batcave' uses nearly all the above, with a wonderfully twisted viewpoint, which makes it the best of the reunion shows, and has raised the bar for the others.

Adam West and Burt Ward and summoned to a showing of the original Batmobile. While they are there, the car is stolen.

The Adam West of the movie is a man demented. He called Jerry, his butler, `Alfred'. He opens a bust of Shakespeare in his apartment and reveals a hidden pole to slide down to the parking garage. He's obsessed with being a crime fighter, when in fact he's merely a washed up actor. When the Batmobile is stolen he not only believes it's his duty as a crime fighter to recover it, he drags and unwilling Burt Ward in as his assistant.

The pursuit is largely loquacious, with West and Ward reminiscing about the old days. It is broken by `flashbacks' with actors playing West and Ward in the old days. The modern scenes and the `flashbacks' both have the wacky lack of reality the show maintained. There are also running gags that show West is able to make fun of himself: in Ward's book about his time on the show, he spoke frankly about West's libido and also his being a skinflint (West makes Ward pay for everything in their pursuit, down to tips and bus fare). The clues they follow, the characters they meet (even in flashback) all fit the mentality of the old series, and there are several homages, including a fist fight with written sound effects.

The whole thing is extremely funny and done with great panache. There are also cameos by Julie Newmar (looking like she's had one facelift too many) and Frank Gorshin, reminding us why he has such a cult following. Gorshin will be the Riddler when Jim Carey, his obvious successor, is long forgotten. The movie builds to a fairly obvious but funny climax.

This show is a model for reunion shows – unfortunately, there are few that can fit the pattern. This show had actors replaying their old characters; young actors playing a movie about the making of the show; the actors West and Ward reminiscing; and a modern-day movie with the real Adam West playing the demented Adam West. It has everything. If you loved the old show, this is the stopper on the bottle.

I enjoyed every minute of this movie and seeing how Adam and Burt both formed the dynamic duo us batfans grew to love. Since some actors and actresses were lacked in this movie such as Yvonne Craig (Barbara Gordon/Batgirl) and Eartha Kitt (Catwoman), maybe there ought to be a sequel to follow with Adam and Burt on pursuit of that supposed orphan who stole the batmobile again at the end of this movie. And add the characters of Alan Napier, Neil Hamilton, Madge Blake and Stafford Repp. (Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Aunt Harriet, and Chief O'Hara) I'm just wondering what seeing them back then as we did in Adam and Burt portrayed by Jack and Jason would be like. Anyway I give this film an A+.

Part reunion show, bringing back the original stars (Adam West, Burt Ward, Frank Gorshin and Julie Newmar) and part re-creation of the series shown in flashbacks, this is an affectionate tribute to one of the 60s most popular shows, and a must-see for series fans. Throwaway riffs (on, for instance, Adam West's cheapness and Burt Ward's weight gain) add to the fun as Adam and Burt are re-united to hunt for the stolen Batmobile, a hunt replete with the BIFF and THWAK sound effects, and cheap looking minimalist sets so characteristic of the show.

And as the movie goes along, we flash back through the progress of the series' production from casting to cancellation. It's a nice blend of affectionate nostalgia and silly post modern fun.