Mystery Men (1999)

A Disappointing Continuation

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

I'm a huge fan of comic book writer/artist Bob Burden. The Flaming Carrot by Burden remains my favorite comic of all-time. The Mystery Men was a spinoff series from The Flaming Carrot, about a league of second tier super heroes of which The Carrot was a member. The story concept of wannabe superheroes and villains is ripe for comedy, since self-serious comic book movies are ripe for satire, but what ends up on screen here sadly is not all that funny or biting. The humor of the comic books were decidedly absurdist and wildly funny if you appreciate that sense of humor, but the humor of the film is much more conventional and revolves more around silly super powers, purposefully corny dialogue, and fart jokes. The film is only made watchable by virtue of it's stellar cast (William H. Macy as The Shoveler, Hank Azaria as Blue Raja, Janeane Garofalo as The Bowler, Paul Reubens as The Spleen Ben Stiller as Mr. Furious, Wes Studi as The Sphinx, Geoffrey Rush as Casanova Frankenstein, Lena Olin as Dr. Anabel Leek, Eddie Izzard as Tony P, Artie Lange as Big Red, Claire Forlani as Monica, Tom Waits as Doc Heller, Louise Lasser as Violet, Ricky Jay as Vic Weems, Dane Cook as The Waffler, Doug Jones as Pencilhead, Dana Gould as Squeegeeman). Greg Kinnear also appears in the film as the one top tier superhero, Captain Amazing, who when he is captured by villains, the Mystery Men have to step up to save him and Champion City. The film also includes odd cameos and bit parts by Michael Bay, Mark Mothersbaugh, Riki Rachtman, CeeLo Green, Jody Watley,, Doug Jones, and Dana Gould. The film was (over) directed by commercial director Kinka Usher, who has since directed no other feature films, but I think a majority of the film's failure lies with the script by Neil Cuthbert, who's other writing credits include the notable Eddie Murphy bomb, "The Adventures of Pluto Nash." According to IMDB, Danny DeVito was at one point set to direct and star as The Shoveller, and I can't help but think DeVito would have embraced the absurdist humor of the source material and would have consequentially made a much better film. Instead, we're left with a barely watchable comedy that feels like a sadly missed opportunity. If you do want a GOOD comedy about second tier superheroes, watch James Gunn's underrated "The Specials" or his darker superhero comedy "Super" instead.

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb In the shape of an "L" on her forehead Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb So much to do, so much to see So what's wrong with taking the backstreets? You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold It's a cool place and they say it gets colder You're bundled up now but wait 'til you get older But the meteor men beg to differ Judging by the hole in the satellite picture The ice we skate is getting pretty thin The water's getting warm so you might as well swim My world's on fire, how about yours? That's the way I like it and I'll never get bored Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars Somebody once asked "Could I spare some change for gas? I need to get myself away from this place" I said "Yep, what a concept I could use a little fuel myself And we could all use a little change!" Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running Didn't make sense not to live for fun Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb So much to do, so much to see So what's wrong with taking the backstreets? You'll never know if you don't go You'll never shine if you don't glow Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on, get paid And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold And all that glitters is gold Only shooting stars break the mold

The year is 1999 and the place is Champion City and all of the super villains are either dead or behind bars, so in a city over run with super heroes, there is no work. So the greatest super hero, Captain Amazing, decides to manipulate a few things to keep his sponsorship, and releases Cassanova Frankinstein. Unfortunately Cassanova gets the better of him and kills him so it is up to a hopeless trio: the Blue Rajah, The Shovel, and Mr Furious, to get him back. Unfortunately they are hopeless so they recruit some more, landing up with the Invisible Man, the Spleen, and the Bowler's daughter. Then the Sphinx, a mysterious figure, turns up to train them.This movie, which is actually based on a comic series of the same name, is a farce of super hero movies. The mad inventor emphasises that all of his inventions are non-lethal, the Blue Rajah throws spoons and forks, but not knives, the Shovel is married with kids and his wife tries to tell him that maybe the superhero business is not cut out for him, and nobody finds Mr Furious threatening, at all.It is a cute little movie and deals with these mystery men's right of ascension. Now that Captain Amazing is dead, a new lot of super heroes are needed, and unfortunately all they have are these guys. The Blue Rajah lives with his mother and Mr Furious is trying too hard to be something that he is not. In the end, when Mr Furious comes to terms with who he really is, a guy named Roy, then he becomes Mr Furious.This is a pretty cool movie, and I do recommend it, but it is not one that stands out so much that one would want to see it again and again. I guess there is a little criticism here, but in the end any comment that it would want to make, simply falls down into a pool of laughs and weirdness. It may be weird, but it is not the weird that makes me interested in the movie.

So in the metropolis known as Champion city one hero stands up to evildoers, putting a triumphant end to criminal activity while the population swoons at his every act. His name is Captain Amazing(Greg Kinear)...but he's not alone. On the sidelines are Mr. Furious, The Shoveler and The Blue Raja. 3 misfit superheroes played by Ben Stiller, William H. Macy and Hank Azaria. They try their damnedest to follow Captain Amazing's example and help in all the crime fighting. But when Captain Amazing is captured by the villain Casanova Frankenstein(Geoffrey Rush) it's up to the three of them to find and rescue him, recruiting help along the way, rounding out their team with The Bowler(Janeane Garofalo), The Spleen(Paul Reubens), Invisible Boy(Kel Mitchell), and the Sphinx(Wes Studi).This seemed like a hysterical premise for a movie and I was stoked back in 1999 to see it. As I recall I liked it but was maybe a little let down given my expectations. Apparently though I was alone in even that amount of praise. I remember at the time this movie getting a lot of flak, I had a couple of friends that out and out hated it. Maybe it was just unrealistic expectations from everybody given the film's stellar cast. Maybe the fact that it takes so many visual cue's from the Batman franchise(Burton and Schumacher alike), when people still had a bad taste in their mouth from 'Batman & Robin.' Maybe it's because superhero movies at that time were few and far between, so the references were just flying over people's heads...maybe if it had been released just a few years later things would've been different. Or maybe...just maybe it wasn't everyone's cup of tea. But it's my understanding that this film is finally starting to develop something of a cult following and I can see why.I just watched this movie again, more than ten years later and I loved every minute of it. What many might have considered to be dumb in it's original run is actually a very clever commentary on superhero conventions. Out characters are gifted with ridiculous powers and skills that in no way should amount to any kind of heroics, and yet somehow they do...an extreme take on the superheros we're actually meant to take seriously. They poke fun at secret identities and costumes...these guys are just as concerned with allying their super persona with coherent themed branding so they can be recognizable to potential fans.The movie is a parody on a genre that hadn't quite gotten its footing in the mainstream yet, and I'm sure that was its real downfall. Quite frankly with the A-list cast it should've been more financially successful regardless of the script, I just don't think many people quite knew what to make of it. If you were one of the many who was disappointed or in some way put off by this film back '99 I would recommend giving it a second shot. I never really hated it in the first place but my rating has definitely gone up and I've discovered a whole new appreciation for it. Beyond the plot which I've focused on in this review it is also quite well acted and directed and has some really stellar visuals in it...quite a feat of art direction as a matter of fact.