Movie Name: Mystery Men
Year of Release: 1999
Director: Kinka Usher
Starring: Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria, Paul Reubens, Janeane Garofalo, Kel Mitchell, Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear, Wes Studi, Lena Olin, Eddie Izzard, Claire Forlani, Tom Waits, Pras Michel, Artie Lange, Ricky Jay, Jenifer Lewis, Louise Lasser, Ned Bellamy, Monet Mazur, Michael Bay, Noah Blake, Michael Chieffo, Mark Mothersbaugh, CeeLo Green, Stacey Travis, Doug Jones, Jack Plotnick, Dane Cook
Genre: Comedy, Action
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
Watch it on AmazonSynopsis and Review
"Mystery Men" is in many ways one very unique film in the sense that many of its creative team didn't work on any feature films following its release, starting with its director Kinka Usher, who went back to directing commercials. The narrative focuses on three friends, who moonlight as wannabe superheroes, namely Furious, Shoveler, and Blue Raja. They all fall under the shadow of the biggest superhero of Champion City, the dashing and invincible Captain Amazing. Captain Amazing finds himself in a huge predicament, much like his publicist indicates, since he has thwarted/imprisoned/or killed any supervillain that has appeared in the city. Fearing the loss of endorsements (since he has no one else to vanquish), Captain Amazing enables the release on bail of one of his most resourceful foes, the cunning Casanova Frankenstein. Casanova has plans of his own, and he soon takes over Captain Amazing. Fearing something truly nefarious is brewing in the city, Furious, Shoveler, and Blue Raja decide to recruit more unconventional superheroes for the their team with the hopes of becoming the saviors of the city (and of the captain). Their first attempt at uncovering what has happened to the Captain nearly results in catastrophe, when they take on Tony P., another master criminal. However Sphinx comes to their rescue, and also gives them a crash course in being a team of superheroes.
"Mystery Men" could have easily fallen into the spoof genre and go for the facile laugh moment (and at times it does), however it's a film that smartly deconstructs the seriousness of the superhero genre, by placing normal individuals, some of them with questionable powers, at the center of the action. The creative team behind this film also smartly crafted a universe of its own, one where heroes and their villains portend with issues such as capitalism, surviving different family dynamics, and even the typical romantic challenges. The film is populated with cliched characters, but the creators know it so, and the film never assumes itself very seriously, something that the banter between the characters also highlights. There's a verve of irony across all these pseudo-heroes that makes the film always watchable, just as it borderlines on being a quasi-spoof type of film. The cast is another reason to be delighted by this feature, since they all play to their strengths, including Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Hank Azaria, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Greg Kinnear, Lena Olin, Janeane Garofalo. The production team is also top notch, with highlights going to Stephen H. Burum's cinematography, Stephen Warbeck's score, and Marilyn Vance's costumes. There are indeed aspects where the taste level is suspicious, but this is a film that doesn't take itself seriously, and ends up being quite enjoyable.
