SLOWLY SINKING SUPERZEROS
Courtesy Photo
"MYSTERY MEN"
** stars 120 minutes | Rated: PG-13
Opened: Friday, August 6, 1999
Directed by Kinka Usher

Starring Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Geoffrey Rush, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, Paul Reubens, Hank Azaria, Claire Forlani, Kel Mitchell, Lena Olin, Wes Studi & Tom Waits




 COUCH CRITIQUE
   SMALL SCREEN SHRINKAGE: 25%
   LETTERBOX: COULDN'T HURT

When "Mystery Men" falls apart in the last hour, it won't feel like such a rip-off with the lowered expectations of a rental. Deliberately cinematic, like a dimly-lit "Dick Tracy," so if you're gonna do it, you might as well do it right - in wide screen.

   VIDEO RELEASE: 1/11/2000




 REVIEW CROSS-REFERENCE
Ben Stiller:
"Permanent Midnight" (1998)
"There's Something About Mary" (1998)
"Flirting With Disaster" (1996)

William H. Macy:
"Psycho" (1998)
"Wag the Dog" (1997)
"Air Force One" (1997)
"Boogie Nights" (1997)
"Down Periscope" (1996)
"Fargo" (1996)

Geoffrey Rush:
"Shakespeare In Love" (1998)
"Elizabeth" (1998)
"Les Miserables" (1998)
"Children of the Revolution" (1997)
"Shine" (1996)

Janeane Garofalo:
"200 Cigarettes" (1999)
"Clay Pigeons" (1998)
"Permanent Midnight" (1998)
"Cop Land" (1997)
"The Matchmaker" (1997)
"Romy & Michele..." (1997)
"Truth About Cats & Dogs" (1996)

Greg Kinnear:
"You've Got Mail" (1998)
"As Good As It Gets" (1997)
"Sabrina" (1995)

Paul Reubens:
"Dr. Dolittle" (1998) voice

Hank Azaria:
"Great Expectations" (1998)
"Homegrown" (1998)
"Anastasia" (1997)
"Grosse Pointe Blank" (1997)
"The Birdcage" (1996)

Claire Forlani:
"Meet Joe Black" (1998)
"The Rock" (1996)

Great cast of wannabe heroes can't save 'Mystery Men' from succumbing to that which it spoofs

By Rob Blackwelder

If nothing else, "Mystery Men," a chaff on the "Batman"-style event movie, has impeccable timing. The unbridled superhero genre has never been more ripe for spoofing, and this picture has an superior satirical pedigree, what with its cast that includes those hippest heir apparents of comedy royalty, Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo.

Adapted from the Dark Horse comic book of the same name, the movie's protagonists are a sad sack band of part-time, wannabes heroes with monikers like The Shoveler (mild-mannered William H. Macy, donning a golden spade); the silverware-wielding Blue Raja (Hank Azaria, in a bad fortune-teller get-up); the Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), whose powers only work when no one is looking; The Spleen (Paul Rubens of "Pee-Wee" fame), who boasts near-lethal flatulence; The Bowler (Garofalo), whose translucent, supernatural ball contains her dead daddy's skull; and Mr. Furious (Stiller), whose alleged power is his violent and very short temper.

These not-so-super friends are called into action when Champion City's real savior -- a corporate sellout called Captain Amazing (a superbly conceited Greg Kinnear), whose rubbery costume is plastered with more ads than NASCAR jumpsuit -- is captured by the wildly nefarious, feral-eyed and disco-lovin' baddie Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush, on an all-you-can-eat scenery diet).

But even with a capriciously cornball story and such a delightfully demented cast, "Mystery Men" manages to miss its mark. After a solid hour of double-over laughs, first-time director Kinka Usher (the man behind the Taco Bell Chihuahua spots) drops the ball, allowing his riff on the Hollywood's most shameless commodity to become precisely what it set out to ridicule.

The last half of "Mystery Men" is conspicuously short on laughs (save an arsenal of Garofalo zingers), abandoning its sense of humor for an unnecessarily complicated, catch-phrase-crazy, guns-and-stunts-driven last act. After an over-long training sequence under the tutelage of an elder masked mentor called The Sphinx (Wes Studi), and a few arbitrary internal conflicts, these pawn shop heroes make an assault on Casanova's castle, trying their mettle and the audience's patience.

Its sad to see the way the picture unravels in the last hour after such a promising start. With so much talent on the screen, so many good, hard laughs (Captain Amazing has a publicist!) and such ironically handsome production design (Champion City is a slick, faux-futuristic mastermix of "Batman's" Gotham and "Blade Runner's" L.A.), I tried to find every way I could to like it.

But director Usher lost his way, gradually turning "Mystery Men's" mockery into unfortunate imitation.






 



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