Review of Mystery Men (1999) by Gareth N — 10 Oct 2010

Mystery Men sports one of the most filled-out casts of any movie. Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, and William H. Macy are a trio of seemingly talentless crime fighters. As the real superhero becomes captive of a real supervillain, Mr.

Furious, the Blue Raja, and the Shoveler throw together a team of their own superheros to save the city. The script here is the real hero, as without it, the movie would certainly not have turned out half as good.

Each joke is refreshingly clever and hilarious. The chemistry between the cast is key as well; almost no joke relies on one character. Greg Kinnear as Captain Amazing and Geoffrey Rush as Casanova Frankenstein are particularly spectacular.

Captain Amazing is as cocky and sarcastic as any monopolistic superhero could be imagined to be, while Casanova Frankenstein is cold and evil as any supervillain should be. The character of Casanova is still infused with the same clever lines as the rest of the cast and thus provides plenty of laughs as well.

The story takes a few unexpected twists and is sure to involve any viewer who is interested. If you have appreciation for clever humor and well fleshed out characters, rather than the cheap jokes and flat characters most of today's comedies, then Mystery Men will be a jewel to you.