MYSTERY MEN
(Universal)
Starring: Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo,
Paul Reubens, Kel Mitchell, Wes Studi, Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear.
Screenplay: Neil Cuthbert, based on characters created by Bob Burden.
Producers: Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Mike Richardson.
Director: Kinka Usher.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, mild profanity, adult humor)
Running Time: 117 minutes.
Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
Of all the reasons to be frustrated by a film, I'll take the one
MYSTERY MEN provides: it's just too clever and original for its own
damned good. The super-hero action film has become such a predictable
package of action sequences, limp quips and bland characterizations that
it was screaming for a satirical treament. To fill this need, along comes
MYSTERY MEN, spinning out a dozen different ways to turn the genre on its
ear...which turns out to be at least a half-dozen too many. As busily
directed by television commercial auteur Kinka Usher, MYSTERY MEN rarely
sits still long enough for any one of its sharp ideas to turn into
inspired comedy.
The concept, based on characters appearing in Dark Horse comics,
offers plenty of potential. In Champion City, a teeming BLADE
RUNNER-esque metropolis, we meet three would-be warriors for justice: Mr.
Furious (Ben Stiller), The Shoveler (William H. Macy) and the
fork-wielding Blue Raja (Hank Azaria). Unfortunately, the trio is way
down in the super-hero pecking order from the dashing Captain Amazing
(Greg Kinnear), and even Captain Amazing can't find a good fight because
he's dispatched evil-doers so efficiently. When Captain Amazing engineers
the release of arch-villain Cassanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) from a
mental institution, he finds himself unexpectedly captured by his nemesis.
With Captain Amazing out of commission, it's left to Mr. Furious and his
crew to bring together a team of heroes with more ambition than
super-fire-power, including The Bowler (Janeane Garofolo), master of
flatulence The Spleen (Paul Reubens), Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) and the
"terribly mysterious" Sphinx (Wes Studi).
MYSTERY MEN works best from the outset by turning its super-heroes
into analogs for contemporary athletes. Career minor-leaguers like The
Shoveler, a married suburban father of three, wonder whether they'll get a
shot at the big time; Captain Amazing and his publicist (Ricky Jay) find
themselves generally more preoccupied with maintaining corporate
sponsorship deals than with crime-fighting. The simple moments in which
the heroes-in-waiting cope with workaday life are sparked by the
wonderfully off-beat cast -- Azaria's Blue Raja as a mama's boy who
practices his witty one-liners in his room; Stiller's Mr. Furious trying
to strike the right super-hero image to impress a diner waitress (Claire
Forlani). Every so often, MYSTERY MEN nails the absurdity of its premise
so well that the comedy is blissfully perfect.
It's just not often enough. As the film winds its way through two
hours, its comic highlights are nearly matched by the unexplored
sub-plots. Lost in the shuffle of too many characters are the team's two
over-eager tag-alongs, the geeky Spleen and earnest Invisible Boy (whose
"powers" may be nothing more than a major case of teenage existential
angst). Neil Cuthbert's script spends too much time on The Sphinx's
initially amusing Yoda-like training, and too little on Kinnear's
splendidly smug Captain Amazing. Rush's Cassanova Frankenstein hardly
gets a moment to develop a distinct personality, treating his Teutonic
accent as sufficient evidence of his villainy. And director Usher takes
the swooping full-screen close-ups from his Taco Bell chihuahua and "Got
Milk?" ads, and uses them to distracting excess. MYSTERY MEN wants to
make every possible gag about super-heroes in one film, but it's off on
the next set-up before you get a chance to appreciate the last punch line.
Thankfully, there are just enough quirky pleasures in MYSTERY MEN to
counteract its hyperactivity. Some bits of dialogue are priceless,
including The Shoveler's stubborn insistence that millionaire Lance Hunt
couldn't be Captain Amazing's alter-ego ("Lance Hunt wears glasses,
Captain Amazing doesn't"). The team's first joint assault on Cassanova's
limo is a goofy low-tech triumph over the bad guys, followed by a round of
drinks at a bar like a city league softball team. A cast like Stiller,
Garofalo, Macy and Azaria guarantees more oddball enjoyment than most
films could deliver, but they could have been part of a cult classic.
It's ironic that a parody of summer movie overkill is guilty of some of
the same sins. You can't swing for the fences every time, especially if
you're a minor leaguer trying to make it to "The Show." Sometimes, you've
gotta take one for the team.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 power barbs: 6.
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Have I seen this movie: Yes
And what did I think: Mystery Men is a fun comedy about a team
of not-so-superheroes who are forced to stop a villian from
destroying their city, after the city's real superhero, Captain
Amazing played by Greg Kinnear, is kidnapped. It's a refreshing
spin on the whole superhero movie theme. The band of heroes have
some rather unique powers. There's William H Macy who plays the
Shoveler... a guy who uses shovels to batter the bad guys. Hank
Azaria plays the Blue Raja, a 40 year old guy who still lives with his mom and doesn't wear a speck of blue in his costume...
his specialty is throwing forks. Ben Stiller is Mr. Furious, a
guy who just gets real mad and thinks that he becomes powerful..
it's quite humorous to try to watch him battle when he really
cant do all that much. Kel Mitchell plays the Invisible Boy, who
can only turn invisible when nobody is looking at him. Janene
Garafolo plays the Bowler, who uses a bowling ball possessed by
her late father, whose skull happens to be imbedded in it. Wes Studi plays the Sphinx, a mysterious hero who trains the group and uses a lot of bad cliches. and lastley there is our good
friend Paul Reubens, aka Pee Wee Herman who plays The Spleen, a rather grotesque hero who was the power of super flatulence.
Well if this group sounds rather strange to you, just watch the
scene where they are recruiting super heroes. Waffle Man,
Squeegee Man, and the PMS Avenger are just a couple of other
people that you'll see. Geoffrey rush plays Casanova
Frankenstein, the evil leader surrounded by his disco boys...
thats a laugh right there, and wants to destroy the city. There
are lots of funny scenes here, and the acting is quite good by
Macy, Azaria and Stern. On the flip side, I felt that Rush's
character was quite useless and you don't really identify him as
an evil villian. The movie does a lot of satirical references to
other superhero films like Batman and Superman. The problem with
the film is that it often goes off course and gets too slow at
times. But it does deliver a number of laughs, so it is worth checking out. Perhaps some more script revisions may have made
this film better. Also, I'd advise checking out the DVD because
there were some key scenes that were deleted for some reason that the DVD shows.
I give Mystery Men 3 out of 5 stars
Review written January 7, 2000
