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Mystery Men

areaseven

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areaseven Super Dimension Member

areaseven

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Mystery Men ( ミステリー・メン )

Universal Pictures, 1999

Directed by Kinka Usher

Loosely Based Upon Characters from Flaming Carrot Comics by Bob Burden

Running Time: 121 minutes

Rated PG-13 for graphic violence, mature situations and strong language.

The Blue Raja: "Pardon me, fatty. But if you're going to eat cake, you'll need to use a fork!"

The Shoveler: "You may as well just shovel it in!"

Mr. Furious: "People who don't close their mouths when they chew...make me FURIOUS!!!"

Cast

Ben Stiller (Zoolander, Greg in Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers) as Roy/Mr. Furious

Hank Azaria (Chief Wiggum in The Simpsons) as Jeffrey/The Blue Raja

William H. Macy (Narrator in Curious George) as Eddie/The Shoveler

Janeane Garofalo (Colette in Ratatouille) as Carol/The Bowler

Geoffrey Rush (Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean, Nigel in Finding Nemo) as Casanova Frankenstein

Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens as The Spleen

Kel Mitchell as The Invisible Boy

Wes Studi (Magua in The Last of the Mohicans, Sagat in Street Fighter: The Movie) as The Sphinx

Tom Waits as Dr. A. Heller

Claire Forlani as Monica the Waitress

Eddie Izzard (Roman in Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen) as Tony P.

Lena Olin (Irina in Alias) as Dr. Anabel Leek

Ricky Jay as Victor Weems

Artie Lange as Big Red

Prakazrel "Pras" Michel (a member of the Fugees) as Tony C.

Greg Kinnear (Ratchet in Robots) as Lance Hunt/Captain Amazing

Mr. Furious: "Don't mess with the volcano my man, 'cause I will go Pompeii on your... butt."

Lowdown

The mid and late 1990s were probably the lowest points in comic book film history. Bombs like Barb Wire, Judge Dredd, The Phantom and Steel infested theaters like the Plague. Joel Schumacher and George Clooney destroyed the Batman franchise with Batman & Robin, and Todd McFarlane's landmark title Spawn failed to meet all expectations.

Mr. Furious: "Okay. Right now, I'm kinda like a powder keg, and you're the match."

And then, there's Mystery Men, a high-budget film released in 1999 by Universal Pictures. It tanked at the box office, making roughly $33 million worldwide (roughly 1/3 of its budget). The film begins with three men struggling to be superheroes: Mr. Furious (a guy with nothing but a bad temper), The Shoveler (some schmoe with a shovel) and The Blue Raja (a fork-wielder with an English accent and clothing that's not even remotely blue). Their efforts are always overshadowed by Captain Amazing (think Superman in a NASCAR suit), who has been losing his edge due to the lack of super villains in town. So, for old time's sake, Captain Amazing has the city release his arch-nemesis Casanova Frankenstein after 20 years in the asylum.

Casanova Frankenstein: "Captain Amazing! What a surprise."

Captain Amazing: "Really? I'm not so sure about that. Your first night of freedom, and you blow up the asylum. Interesting choice. I knew you couldn't change."

Casanova Frankenstein: "I knew you'd know that."

Capt. Amazing: "Oh, I know that. AND I knew you'd know I'd know you knew."

Casanova Frankenstein: "But I didn't. I only knew that you'd know that I knew. Did you know that?"

Capt. Amazing: "Of course."

And when they encounter each other once again, Casanova Frankenstein predictably outsmarts Captain Amazing and captures him. Upon hearing of billionaire Lance Hunt's (Captain Amazing's alter-ego, of course) disappearance, Mr. Furious, The Shoveler and The Blue Raja race to Casanova Frankenstein's mansion, only to be pummeled by the Disco Boys.

Mr. Furious: "Uhhh...that's it? That's your power? You have guns? Couldn't you be a little more creative than that?"

The Blue Raja: "Do forgive the impertinence, but what the devil does a pistol have to do with disco?"

Mr. Furious: "Weak."

The Blue Raja: "At best."

Learning from their mistakes, our heroes decide to recruit other superheroes for their crusade to save Captain Amazing. First, they pick up The Invisible Boy (whose powers work only when no one's looking) and then bump into The Spleen (an acne-ridden dweeb who just farts). After failing to see a potential during a tryout camp, they meet The Bowler (a woman who has her father's skull encased in a bowling ball). After another run-in with Casanova Frankenstein and his gang, our heroes meet The Sphinx (a guy who can slice guns with his mind) and decide to follow his teachings to hone their abilities. They also enlist the help of Dr. Heller, an inventor of non-lethal weaponry. And so, our heroes once again storm into Casanova Frankenstein's mansion and do whatever they're supposed to do.

(Mr. Furious tries to balance a hammer on his head.)

Mr. Furious: "Why am I doing this, again?"

The Sphinx: "When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack."

Mr. Furious: "And why am I wearing the watermelon on my feet?"

(The Sphinx looks at the watermelon "shoes" on Mr. Furious' feet.)

The Sphinx: "I don't remember telling you to do that."

Okay, so there isn't much to expect out of this film. The special effects are decent, but the story is pretty flat. Nearly all the humor dries out a minute later. Yes, these guys have the lamest powers ever thought of, but why even take this movie seriously? It was meant to be cheesy, and it does a pretty good job at it. Mystery Men features an all-star cast; many of which (except for Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Hank Azaria and Geoffrey Rush) would pretty much be forgotten afterwards. Paul Reubens just can't seem to do much outside his Pee Wee Herman character. And Wes Studi redeemed himself for his part in the whole Street Fighter disaster by playing an even bigger dork than the rest of the Mystery Men.

And long before Shrek used it, Mystery Men had Smash Mouth's "All Star" as its theme song. Too bad the rest of the soundtrack sucks. And if you hate disco music, you will probably have to steer clear of this movie.

Let's face it: Mystery Men isn't good enough to be a memorable superhero flick. As a matter of fact, it wasn't bad enough to even be nominated for a Razzie Award. But on the bright side, at least it's better than Batman & Robin. In fact, despite failing at the box office, it practically ended a long streak of bad comic book films and paved the way for them to be hip once again.

Just a year after Mystery Men left theaters, Marvel laughed their way to the bank with X-Men, Spider-Man and a long list of their superhero titles on film. Dark Horse Followed suit with Hellboy, Sin City and 300. After lagging at the box office for nearly a decade, DC Comics made a triumphant comeback with Batman Begins (Superman Returns would also be mentioned, but officially, it flopped in the U.S.). So in a sense, the Mystery Men are not only the unsung heroes on screen, but also in the whole comic book film industry.

The Sphinx: "Sometimes, the true hero is the one with the courage to run away."

Rating: C+

The Shoveler: "We're not your classic heroes. We're not the favorites. We're the other guys. We're the guys nobody ever bets on."

DVD Extras: A-

For a DVD that's not even worth trading in at any video store, it is loaded with lots of extras. Just about anything you wanted to ask about the film can be answered with commentary by the director, a behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes and background information on the original Mystery Men and the Flaming Carrot comics.

Reference

The Internet Movie Database

Wikipedia

Edited by areaseven
jenius Super Dimension Member

jenius

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I remember one quote from this movie. There's a hot girl on screen and I believe Ben Stiller is watching her (maybe them) and I think the rest of the crew is wondering what her super power is and Mr.Furious announces "I can feel my pants shrinking!" Okay, my memory may be horrible, but I swear that line is in this movie and I found it hilarious. The rest of the movie? I thought it was TERRIBLE. I saw it in the theater 'cause I figured with that cast it'd have to have some good teenage comedy in it... I remember feeling that I had been wrong.

Edited by jenius
wolfx BOMBA!

wolfx

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I couldn't believe a certain superhero died in the movie. Quite very pathetically too. :lol:

The Shade Skull Leader's Lackey

The Shade

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I couldn't believe a certain superhero died in the movie. Quite very pathetically too. :lol:

Actually, this was the turning point for me. I had no interest in this movie until this point, only after this did I start to like it.

gerwalk25 Global's Pipe Holder

gerwalk25

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I liked when it was in the theater but when I saw it recently on Sci-fi it's just a mess it's as if Uwe Bole tried to make a City of Heroes movie. :ph34r:.

wolfx BOMBA!

wolfx

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Posted
Actually, this was the turning point for me. I had no interest in this movie until this point, only after this did I start to like it.

Oh you morbid person. ^_^

Kelsain Alaska Base Survivor

Kelsain

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"What about Deathman? Now he was an arch-villain."

"Deathman is Dead."

My wife and I have a soft spot for this movie. Sure it gets a little thin in the middle, but it's fun. The VHS eventually wore out, so we picked up the DVD at Best Buy for $8. It's money better spent than on some new movies I could mention.

Alpha OTS Global's Pipe Holder

Alpha OTS

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This movies was like a good joke told badly.

I really really like this movie, but I can't entirely disagree with the above statement. The setup's there, but the follow through just doesn't quite gel like it should. I can understand why it didn't do well in the theater.

The Shoveller lines are usually my favorites:

"God's given me a gift. I shovel well. I shovel very well."

"We've got a blind date with Destiny - and it looks like she's ordered the lobster."

" [after leaving the bar] The Shoveller is hammered!"

That said, I think it's aged well. I find I enjoy it much more on subsequent viewings. If you like this, you should probably check out "The Specials". It has the same basic premise(loser superheroes), but it has more of the follow through Mystery Men lacks. Unfortunately, it doesn't have the budget Mystery Men had. Still, you need to see Thomas Hayden Church as The Great Strobe, and hear all about Stretchy Boy.

Roy's Blues Bridge Bunny

Roy's Blues

Posted
Posted (edited)
I remember one quote from this movie. There's a hot girl on screen and I believe Ben Stiller is watching her (maybe them) and I think the rest of the crew is wondering what her super power is and Mr.Furious announces "I can feel my pants shrinking!" Okay, my memory may be horrible, but I swear that line is in this movie and I found it hilarious. The rest of the movie? I thought it was TERRIBLE. I saw it in the theater 'cause I figured with that cast it'd have to have some good teenage comedy in it... I remember feeling that I had been wrong.

It was during the "tryouts". Two wannabees, both attractive, dressed as Wonder Woman get in to a catfight.

/watched it this weekend

//good movie, but Ben Stiler is in it

Edited by Roy's Blues
doodler7 Skull Leader's Lackey

doodler7

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Aw man!...this dvd just came out? I'm hitting up Target tonight!

I like this movie a lot; it's just wholesome goodness, with Ben Stiller! Don't you feel like the Mystery Men with your circle of friends fighting crime and doing justice?...that is at home and at work...from bbq, mowing the lawn to that last minute project? Eh heh heh.

I think All Star by Smash Mouth really went well with the movie (I think)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM96bQkJ-mc

Wholesome goodness my friends...and also with Pee-Wee Herman! LOL.

Buy It! Good flick to watch while winding down after a long day of snowboarding! And lotsa beer! Or just simply kickin' it with your buddies!

And don't forget to watch "Who Wants To Be A Superhero" on the Sci Fi channel (USA)...hee hee!

Edited by doodler7

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