`Mystery Men' – Nothing Super Here by Homer Yen (c) 1999
In the neon-heavy metropolis of Champion City, crime has been all but quashed by the strong arm of justice possessed by the local superhero, Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear). Due to his ability to fight crime, there hasn't been much need for him anymore. His latest act of heroism involves rounding up a group of goggle-wearing punks that disrupt a party at a nursing home. This is hardly the stuff of superhero legend and the Captain knows it. His solution is to recommend the release of one of his archenemies, Dr. Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush), from his prison sentence. Perhaps a renewed battle of good versus evil will elevate his status among the people. This would not only keep his ego healthy, but would keep his publicist happy as well. Yes, a publicist. After all, you won't be popular just because you're super-strong and can fly like a bird.
`Mystery Men' takes a comedic look at the life of a superhero. These guys aren't millionaire playboys. Rather, as in Captain Amazing's case, they need advertising sponsors to defray the cost of crimefighting. It's probably pretty expensive dry cleaning those outfits. Captain Amazing wears a suit covered with so many sponsor patches that you're not sure whether he's a crimefighter or a stock car racer. Alas, Amazing's plan backfires and now the evil Dr. Frankenstein holds him captive. Luckily, within Champion City are a slew of Amazing wannabes that also wants to fight crime. They include Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) whose power seems to be making empty threats while seething with anger; Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) who can throw forks with amazing accuracy and strength; and The Shoveler (William H. Macy) who whacks people with a huge spade. Why don't these guys deserve more credit for their crimefighting efforts? Probably it's because they are terrible at it. They wind up hurting each other more than the bad guys. But soon, these three half-baked heroes will discover that the fate of Champion City will be in their hands.
But they need help, and eventually enlist Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) who can only turn invisible when you don't look at him, The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo) who has a bowling ball with a mind – skull actually – of its own, and The Spleen (Paul Reubens) whose weapon is noxious gusts of flatulence. It's a pretty strange assortment of heroes who will be saving us all, but at least they didn't recruit other questionable heroes like Waffleman (who hits people with a griddle pan), the Pencilhead (who erases crime), or PMS Avenger (who only works 4 days a week). To channel their energy and to develop their skills in preparation for the big battle with Frankenstein, they accept tutelage from The Sphinx (Wes Studi) who is a fountain of stupid aphorisms. He says things like `learn to control your rage our your rage will control you' and `be a part of the wolf pack and not part of a six pack.'
At its heart, Mystery Men has some clever ideas about what the average ‘blue-collar' crimefighter is like. My favorite scene was when these three contemplate the true identity of Captain Amazing. Though Amazing and his alter ego look obviously identical, when one wears glasses, the resemblance disappears! Much of the script is written to take advantage of the comedic gifts of Stiller's dysfunctionality and Garofalo's charm. But ideas and words are not enough. It becomes very apparent that this film has neither direction nor structure to speak of. The abundance of characters makes this film chaotic at times. Couple this with a lot of swirling special effects, the result is a film that's too cluttered to enjoy. It almost made me want to leap off a tall building in a single bound. How the likes of Mr. Furious and his crimefighting sophomores manage to actually save the world is a complete mystery to me.
Grade: C
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