Review of Mystery Men (1999) by Ted R — 09 Oct 2008

Before super hero spoof movies like 'The Incredibles', 'Sky High' & 'Zoom' became popular, this often overlooked movie flew in under the pop-culture radar back in 1999. It uses the fictional super hero scene of Champion City as an allegory for the real-life Hollywood struggling actors? scene.

100's of potential heroes spend their days and nights working and waiting for their big break, and wondering if their talents are good enough to put them on the same level as the city?s current top dog, Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear).

With imaginative and colorful characters played by top-notch actors such as The Blue Raja: Master of Silverware (Hank Azaria), The Shoveler (William H Macy), The Spleen: Master of Flatulence (Paul Ruebens), The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), and of coarse Mr.

Furious, who gets his power from his boundless rage (Ben Stiller), plus many others, this movie is practically overflowing with clever satire and comic ingenuity. The heartwarming and believable camaraderie that is developed between the films main characters only adds to the effectiveness of the movie?s several comedic moments.

Additionally Geoffrey Rush gives a typically excellent performance as the villain Casanova Frankenstein. Hollywood has made countless movies about a rag-tag group of underdogs that band together to overcome incredible odds, and in this case the old formula rings true.

For those of you who initially thought this film was only average, I encourage you to give it another shot. Hopefully you will notice the somewhat subtle, but certainly effective comedy that is delivered by 'Mystery Men,' which is among my favorite films of all time.