Mystery Men (1999, PG-13)

Directed by Kinka Usher

Written by Neil Cuthbert

Based on the comic by Bob Burden

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

As Reviewed by James Brundage (MovieKritic2000)

In the words of Lisa Simpson, "the few, the proud, the geeky." Indeed, these three adjectives are as good descriptions for the completely likeable band of misfits put forth in Mystery Men.

In Champion City, the superhero market is pretty much cornered by Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear). The villains are all defeated... crime is down... the corporate sponsors are backing out. Yes, you heard right, Captain Amazing is a walking, talking, crime fighting ad for toothpaste and soda. Striding around in an expensive suit, he saves the day every chance he can for the celebrity endorsements he gets to do.

Meanwhile, Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), master of silverware, The Shoveler (William H. Macy), master of dirt moving, and Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), master of getting really pissed, roam the streets at night looking to win a battle. Of course, they fail every single time, but who really cares?

They spend each night roaming around, getting stabbed with their own forks or hit with their own shovels and heading to the local cafe for coffee served by the attractive waitress Monica (Claire Forlani), whom Mr. Furious has a crush on.

Back to the wonderful antics of Captain Amazing, who has all of the endorsements and all of the intelligence as the average MAW (Model Actor Whatever). Using his power as his real identity, he sets free Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) so that the ensuing battles will help get him back the precious Pepsi endorsement that he has just lost. Only one problem, he has the general IQ of a tack and soon finds himself held prisoner.

And the Mystery Men (although they can never decide on a name to give themselves) have to save the day.

The begin recruiting super heroes with bizarre powers such as Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), who can only become invisible whenever no one is looking at him and he's not looking at himself. Invisible Boy helps them recruit an entire bunch including The Spleen (Paul Reubens), master of flatulence, The Bowler, who keeps her father's skull encased in a pink bowling ball, and The Sphinx, whose power remains a mystery.

They get non-lethal weapons from a the mad scientist Doc Heller (Tom Waits) and then have to face Casanova Frankestien, Tony P. (Eddie Izzard) and the Disco Gang before a hideous weapon destroys Champion City.

In case your wondering why the hell I would spend about 400 words on plot, the answer is simple: plot alone makes Mystery Men worth seeing. It's so ungodly wacky, so hilarious in its premise that one cannot help but laugh. Were that not enough to carry a movie (and past films have proved that movies can be carried on much less), the film is blessed with a perfect comic timing that makes all of the wordplays and jokes pass off effortlessly. A good deal of slapstick helps keep oh ye of little brains occupied while the juicer cerebellum focuses on the more intelligent attacks on the nature of comic books in general (the reason that no one recognizes super heroes who merely change from having glasses to not having glasses) and the type of bizarre powers that are featured in Marvel or DC comic books.

Of all of the scenes in the film, I would have to say that the most memorable remains when they are searching for qualified heroes. On the list are PMS Avenger ("I work four days a month, you have a problem with that?"), Pencil Man and Pencil Boy, and Ballerina Man. I don't think I have to tell you any more how wacky and enjoyable Mystery Men is. Besides, the rest you should see for yourself.