Review of Special (2006) by Eric H — 03 Mar 2010

This is an odd little low budget gem of a concept movie, and the low-budget constraints do show here, but it's original enough that it's more than worth it. It's a dream part for Michael Rapaport, one of my favorite character actors, who has mostly been confined to small, supporting parts, playing some of the best losers and boneheads to be put on film.

Rapaport plays a character who is deluded into thinking that he has developed superpowers after taking part in a drug study that essentially drives him crazy. So essentially what we have here is very fertile ground for satire on the superhero form, which is a formula which has become particularly more popular in the last few years since this movie was originally made.

This is well-conceived satire, with some sadness at the core. The execution does show strain from the limited budget, however. Because the story requires the portrayal of superpowers, it also requires the use of some special effects, and while the story minimizes these effects to some extent, make no mistake, the effects here are terrible. And more than that, the story takes some artificial turns, most likely to avoid big scenes that would be expensive to produce.

But having said all that, Special is a sweet movie with some real sympathy for the main character, who is a sad man that seems desperate to be special. This storyline plays very dark underneath the lighter comic overtones of the film. That sad desperation gives the film some weight to the film and Rapaport's uncommonly sensitive performance gives the film some real heart. And I think that's the thing about Special; it's a movie about the little guy, in the story and in the production.