Mystery Men (1999)

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Directed by Kinka Usher.

Starring Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Wes Studi, Paul Reubens, Ben Stiller, Geoffrey Rush, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, Kel Mitchell.

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Can seven not-so-superheroes save a city of the future? Based on the comic book series created by Bob Burden, Mystery Men is set in the teeming metropolis of Champion City, where noble superhero Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) keeps the peace and sees that justice is done. When Captain Amazing mysteriously disappears, his archenemy Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) sees his opportunity to seize power and bend the city to his evil will, with his associate Dr. Annabel Leek (Lena Olin) at his side. However, Casanova will not succeed without a fight, as the The Mystery Men leap into action. The Mystery Men are not your ordinary Men of Steel; in fact, they're barely superheroes at all. Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) has one gift: throwing tantrums. Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) is a deadly hand with spoons and forks (but not knives). Shoveler (William H. Macy) can dig with superior speed and force. The Bowler (Janeane Garafalo) rolls the ball with superhuman precision. Spleen (Paul Reubens) has a gaseous problem that he's turned into a weapon against evildoers. Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) is convinced he can become invisible at will, but he hasn't actually done it yet. And The Sphinx (Wes Studi) does have an unusual power: he can cut metal objects with his mind. Aided by addled gadget master Dr. Heller (Tom Waits), the Mystery Men make their move against Casanova and Annabel, who feel just threatened enough to make things personal by kidnapping Mr. Furious' girlfriend Monica (Claire Forlani). Mystery Men marked the feature directorial debut of Kinka Usher, who previously directed such ads as the Taco Bell talking chihuahua and the Dairy Association's "Got Milk?" ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Re:Recasting THE PRINCESS BRIDE ...
by leeroy711 in Filmgaming

lost interest.

"Well now that it's over, I guess I'll chime in. My idea is to recast this film with characters from other movies. Meaning, new actors, playing the Princess Bride character as a character they have allready played in another movie. This would probably be the worst movie ever so.............. here it goesWestley ..... Zach Braff as Andrew Largeman as the retarded football player in the made for TV movie referenced in Garden StateButtercup / The Princess Bride ..... Christina Ricci as Rae from Black Snake Moan - this will probably change the rating a bit.Inigo Montoya ..... John Turturro as Jesus The Bowler in The Big LebowskiPrince Humperdinck ..... Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks in ClerksCount Tyrone Rugen ..... Jeff Anderson as Randall Graves in Clerks Vizzini ..... Ben Stiller as Mr. Furious in Mystery MenFezzik ..... Ron Perlman as HellboyThe Grandson ..... Eric Stoltz as "Rocky" in Mask - I know, that's horrible The ... " [More]

Get over yourselves, this is funny
by Phantasma-gore-ia in Phantasma-gore-ia Blog

loved it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"This film is good, very good. Much better than it's given credit for and monumentally more worth it than anything Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Martin Lawrence, Kevin Smith (the list is virtually endless) will ever do and is much better designed, thought-out and executed than the perverse and brain-free American Pie series and eclipses just about every vacuous, flimsy excuse for a "comedy" that's come out in the last ten years. Many fondly remembered movies didn't find their public until years after release and I think this has potential to become such a movie. It's not remotely as crass and sorry as, say, Road Trip and has much more to say and to mean than the sophomoric, unoriginal dreck that passes as comedies today. " [More]

Can I have the last hour and a ...
by davisfreeberg in Davis Freeberg's DVD AllStars

hasn't rated it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I hate it when I get films that have absolutely no redeeming qualities. Mystery Men features an all-star gen x ensamble cast in some truly terrible roles. I thought it would at least be funny, but the humor lacks any sort of depth. Now I like the three stooges as much as anyone, but this movie makes even them look sensical. Frankly this one should be buried in the vault of shame along with Bill Cosby's Meteor Man. " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

is neutral about it.

Though it suffers from a bloated production and an overabundance of the hipness quotient, Kinka Usher's inventive, often uproariously funny outing deserves credit for its funky, offbeat casting and a genuine sense of satire. The film may have been more successful if given the solid B-movie treatment that Neil Cuthbert's knowing, smart screenplay deserved, but for every scene that lands with a thud, there's two or three that soar, and the comically gifted performers milk every situation for its full potential. One might argue that letting these actors run wild with such a shaky foundation is a bad idea, but they all give fun-loving, devoted performances, and the superhero genre gets an effective tweaking while still delivering the goods as a big summer movie (though the film's protracted, numbing last reel grows tiresome very quickly). Released in August of 1999, the film was hugely unsuccessful, making only a fraction of what it cost to produce, and audiences stayed away in droves. Presumably, the marketing was unsure as to who the film was made for -- which, quite honestly, is part of its appeal. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Tags: bad-acting , pee-wee-herman , box-office-flop , underrated , comicbookmovie
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