MYSTERY MEN RATING: 7 / 10 --> Good movie
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What you get when take about a dozen name-actors and slap them into a budgeted $85 Million comic-book movie with Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush as the bad guy, and first-time movie director of Taco Bell's infamous TV Chihuahua ads, "Yo Quiero Taco Bell", at the helm? Mystery Men: The Movie, based on the Dark Horse comic book is what you get. Is it any good? Well, let's find out.
PLOT: Captain Amazing, the popular superhero known to have abolished crime in Champion City, decides to allow one of his biggest nemeses, Cassanova Frankenstein, out of the penitentiary, because he is losing his sponsors due to the lack of altercations left for him in the big city. Unfortunately for him, Cassanova has plans of his own, leaving it up to several up-and-coming, bumbling superheroes to attempt to save the day.
CRITIQUE: Mostly enjoyable and colorful comic-book hero spoof, this movie was not as funny as I anticipated, but did offer enough original material and pretty eye-candy for yours truly to be amused during its entire showing. I am also a comic book collector myself, and appreciated many at the potshots taken at the comic-book genre (Most of the funniest stuff came from this premise). I also liked the whole concept of "disco" being integrated into the bad guys' theme, as well as the quirky special effects and the few surprises tossed in and around. The actors were all passable, with William H. Macy sticking out as the cream of their crop, but I did think Ben Stiller could have been a little funnier. Also, what's with Lena Olin taking that complete throwaway role as Cassanova's bimbo-du-jour (I still have dreams about here in ROMEO IS BLEEDING... :) Garofalo was darkly humorous as per usual.
All in all, I suppose they could have done much better with such a parody film, especially in the humor and action department, but then again, some of the stories that I had heard before this screening, had me expecting the worst as well. Geoffrey Rush for one, was a definite poor casting call, simply boring me as the bad guy. They could have gotten someone with a little more charisma. And surely the "identities" of each of the Mystery Men was not as inspirational as they could have been...I mean, I know it's a parody, but the "fork-guy"? C'mon! Having said that, I think that anyone who has ever had an interest in comic books, superheroes, or even movies based on either, will enjoy this movie for what it is: a goofy, wink-wink, over-the-top, special effects-laden comic-book spoof starring a whole bunch of name-actors having a blast! Not the best movie I've seen this summer, but definitely far from the worst. Warm your nachos, and grind right into them, cause these are the kind of movies for which nachos were indirectly invented.
Little Known Facts about this film and its stars: Director Kinka Usher is best known for having directed those cute doggie commercials for Taco Bell ("Yo Quiero Taco Bell?"). Actor Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo once dated for about three weeks, but stopped after they thought that it was getting "weird". They are now really good friends, and seem to be in every other movie together. They even wrote a book together called "Feel This Book: An Essential Guide to Self-Empowerment, Spiritual Supremacy, and Sexual Satisfaction". Janeane was offered the role of Gale Weathers in the movie SCREAM (8/10), but turned it down to do a movie called SWEETHEARTS. Courtney Cox then got her role and SCREAM went on to gross more than $100 million, where as SWEETHEARTS went straight to video. Her production company is called "I Hate Myself Productions". She stands 5'1". One funny in-joke is contained in the line "I'm just a publicist, not a magician!", delivered by Captain Amazing's publicist near the beginning of the film. The actor delivering the line, Rickie Jay, is in actually, a magician. Greg Kinnear lived in Greece for sometime, and can actually speak Greek. Paul Reubens (AKA Pee-Wee Herman) was born Paul Rubenfield. He was once honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, and was arrested for masturbating in an adult movie theatre in 1991. Actress Lena Olin is born in Sweden, and had already made a successful career as an actress before she came to Hollywood. Director Sydney Pollack rewrote the scenario for his movie HAVANNA especially for her. The "H" in William H. Macy's name stands for Hall. Actress Louis Lasser, who plays Hank Azaria's mom in this film, was once married to director Woody Allen for about three years in the sixties. Fugee music star Pras plays one of the Disco Boys in this film. Actor Wes Studi (The Sphynx) is an American Indian of the Cherokee Nation.
Review Date: August 15, 1999
Director: Kinka Usher
Writer: Neil Cuthbert
Producers: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Mike Richardson
Actors: Ben Stiller as Mr. Furious
William H. Macy as The Shoveler
Hank Azaria as The Blue Raja
Greg Kinnear as Captain Amazing
Geoffrey Rush as Cassanova Frankenstein
Genre: Comic-Book Comedy
Year of Release: 1999
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(c) 1999 Berge Garabedian
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