“Kick-Ass” Kicks . . . Well, You Know

Say what you will about an 11 year old girl viciously killing mobsters with all sorts of knives, guns, and martial arts skills, “Kick-Ass” explores a question most of us ask when we’re kids:

“Can I be a superhero?” Or perhaps a better question we ask is, “How can I be a superhero?”

Some of us even went as far as to go out in some sort of masked costume to fight crime (I’m not the only one, right?). Some of us didn’t go past our own neighborhood, but the desire was there for greatness; to fight evil in order to protect the innocent. Dave Lizewski’s (played by Arron Johnson) efforts to fight crime got him into the kind of trouble that is both heart-wrenching and cautionary. If we had actually confronted carjackers like Dave did in the film, we too would have been stabbed. That’s a scary thought.

Of course, being a Hollywood film, that’s just the beginning. Most of us, after being discharged from the hospital, would never take to the streets again in our embarrassing superhero costume (Complete with a too small cape we grew out of from that Halloween costume our moms made us a few years before. Again, who’s with me? I’m not the only one, right?). Facing a real bad guy with a gun, knife, and/or real street fighting skills would be so intimidating we’d pee our pants. However, Dave mans up and tries yet again, and in the process meets some “real superheroes” he learns some chops from. The film goes on from there, and you can either love or hate the cartoonish, grisly violence dished out by “Hit-Girl” and “Big Daddy.” That’s not the point of this post.

For those of us who at least dreamed of fighting bad guys as a vigilante crime fighter, “Kick-Ass” delivers the truth of what would have happened: we would have gotten our asses kicked. Let’s be glad our friend’s dad saw us in our ridiculous costume and we were so mortified we hung up our cape and mask for good. Otherwise, we might have ended up hurt, maimed, or dead (I’m pretty sure this is a common experience for many of us, right?).

Thanks, ‘Kick-Ass.” And thanks, friend’s dad. You are superheroes because you saved us from a world of hurt.