SuperBob is Britain’s quirky contribution to the superhero movie genre. Here, Brett Goldstein reveals what would really happen if an ordinary man gained superpowers.

SuperBob premieres in U.K. cinemas today, October 16, and you don’t want to miss this off-beat, charming superhero rom-com.

Is so quintessentially British in its style and tone, and serves as a welcome alternative to the big-concept, epic superhero blockbusters we’re so used to seeing. If you haven’t yet, check out the trailer below (and scroll down for an exclusive clip!):

Directed by Jon Drever and featuring Brett Goldstein as the titular Bob, the film also stars Laura Haddock, Doctor Who‘s Catherine Tate and David Harewood, and Harry Potter‘s Natalia Tena.

In Brett Goldstein’s own words, SuperBob is the story of, “A lonely man who lives in Peckham, who is looking for love, and who also happens to be the world’s only superhero.”

Goldstein both stars in and co-wrote SuperBob, reprising his role from the 2009 short film of the same name. Here, he chats to Hypable about the movie’s unique take on the superhero genre:

Hypable: I really like that in this movie you put the whole superhero thing second, this really is a story about a guy looking for love.

Brett Goldstein: Yeah, I think there’s kind of two genres in one. In a way it’s like a Trojan Horse: The Trojan Horse is a superhero film, and inside the horse is a romantic comedy, sort of hidden in the middle of it.

And what I like about SuperBob is, we know how superhero films work and we’ve all seen origin stories a lot, so [here] you get the whole origin story in the first three minutes. And for a lot of people that would be the whole film. But you know that story, we all know that story, so you don’t really need to see that.

And that’s one of the things that’s so refreshing. The superhero genre is so big, and the characters sort of get lost in that a little bit. But in SuperBob the character’s at the forefront.

BG: Well, we spent a lot of time in the contents of this being the real world. [And] if it’s the real world, and he’s the only superhero, then what does that mean? We had a meeting with the Foreign Office, in which we said, if someone were to suddenly appear with superpowers, what would happen? Not only were they not surprised by the question, but they had a lot of answers. And a lot of that is what is in the film. This idea of, he would become a political pawn, he would be used in negotiations with other countries, because everyone would want to own him.

And I’m always interested in what happens after the happily ever after, like, what happens at the end of Spider-Man, that’s what I’m interested in. And I like the fact that SuperBob is set six years after [he gets powers], and people are a bit bored of him and sort of unimpressed now. It’s not as exciting as it was six years ago; it’s like anything, he’s just a sort of celebrity that’s mocked in the street. I think that’s interesting, how the glamour of it is long gone. And now it’s just this guy.

And that’s interesting, because yeah, this is a superhero movie, but you’ve removed the villain. In superhero movies you’ve always got the superhero in the context of this dark alter-ego he has to fight, but when you take that away, you’ve just got a guy who can fly.

BG: Yeah! Thinking about it, what it would really be like to be a superhero… well, unless you’re psychic, then the rest of it doesn’t really matter. Because when some catastrophe happens, you’ll still arrive there when everyone’s dead. It’s very rare that you happen to be passing a bus falling off a bridge. And that’s a really good day, when you happen to see a bus falling off a bridge, cause you can save that bus. But most of the time you’re basically a very fancy paramedic. And you’re just clearing up the dead and injured.

So it’s gonna be really heavy, and actually the stuff you see in superhero films… if they didn’t know that those events were going to occur, then they wouldn’t be able to save those people or do that thing. That’s the kind of fantasy, when you think about it, with superhero films, is that they’re in the right place at the right time. That’s the real fantasy.

And that there is some kind of tangible evil to defeat.

BG: Yeah. When actually it’s, in this case, it’s a lot to do with the politics of it, and the bureaucracy, and his own self. It’s almost like a coming-of-age story, over the course of the day he becomes a man.

And you and he both forget that he is incredibly strong and can fly and all that stuff… he never abuses that. I don’t think it even occurs to him to, because he’s ultimately very nice, and that doesn’t get corrupted by these powers. Whatever it is that causes this meteor to come, if there’s any grand design to it, it’s that it picked him because he’s the only person that’s not gonna go dark.

Which is just so lovely, and I feel like that’s the word to describe this film, it’s so lovely and charming. It is such a great British response to the Americanized superhero genre. It’s a little more socially realistic, it feels a little bit like The Office with the documentary style, the very dry humor…

BG: Yeah, it was always supposed to be a very British take on it. Certain American superheroes are generally, culturally, traditionally, very confident and cocky… Iron Man is a perfect example. I love Iron Man, he’s a very confident man.

But again, it’s sort of thinking within the real world: If you are a shy person, just because you’re suddenly super strong and can fly, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re confident to burst into a room full of people and kick down doors and do all the things you’d have to do. I’d still be knocking on the door, like, ‘Sorry, I’ve arrived, I don’t want to make a scene.’ And I think there’s something funny in that.

On one hand the movie does read as an ironic response to this very over-the-top superhero wave, but at the same time you guys are clearly paying homage to it as well, you obviously have real love for the genre.

BG: Oh yeah. When we talk to people about it, they ask, ‘Oh, is it a spoof?’ But it’s definitely not a spoof, and it’s not a parody. It’s very sincere. I like that you called it socially realist, because it sort of is. It’s not taking the piss out of superhero films, it is a superhero film, it just happens to be… this particular character is hopefully funny and all of that, but it’s real world stuff, it’s not a wacky piss-take of that thing. We love that thing.

Are you a comic book fan yourself?

BG: I used to be, when I was young. One thing that me and my dad did, we read Superman together, and we’d talk about it. It was suddenly very exciting, with The Death of Superman, and we sort of stuck with it for years beyond that. Nowadays, I mean, I don’t read as much as I would like to. I’m very busy! But I’m fascinated with all that stuff.

Was Superman your favorite?

BG: Uh, I think Batman… well, actually no, I love The Flash, I forget that. I like The Flash, he was my first favorite, when I was very young. And then I got into Superman, and now I’m more into Batman. I like the dark ones.

How did you get started with acting and doing stand-up?

BG: I always wrote, from when I was very little. I remember my dad said to me, ‘You know you could be a writer, that’s a job,’ and I never knew that. And I was like, ‘Oh that’s exciting.’ But I also really wanted to be an actor, and then when I got older, when I started becoming an actor proper, I didn’t want to be one of those actors that sits around complaining about there being no scripts, so I started writing stuff that I could be in, and I put on plays and stuff.

And while I was doing the plays, I secretly always wanted to do stand-up, but I was too scared of it. And then one day I thought, fuck it, I’m not getting any younger, try it once. And then I was kind of hooked on that.

And you and Jon [Drever] kind of came up with this together, right? The short film?

BG: Yeah we started with that short film which we kind of improvised over a day. Jon just called me up one day and asked, ‘Do you want to be a superhero?’ and I said, ‘Yes please.’ And then we developed it over a very long period, and now here we are. It’s finally out, and I’m really pleased that you like it! I’m really delighted.

‘SuperBob’ is in cinemas now!

Go to page 2 for an exclusive clip from ‘SuperBob’, and a message from director Jon Drever.

Here’s Jon Drever introducing a clip from the movie, where SuperBob and Catherine Tate’s Theresa prepare to meet an American senator:

SuperBob is in cinemas from October 16 in the U.K., and also available online from the same date with exclusive behind the scenes extras, bloopers and deleted scenes on www.WeAreColony.com/SuperBob