MYSTERY MEN (1999)

MYSTERY MEN (1999)

Tagline: We're not your classic heroes, we're the other guys.

(Action, Comedy, Don’t Pull His Finger) [PG-13]

Maybe you should put some shorts on or something, if you want to keep fighting evil today.

In this one Champion City is under the revered protection of Captain Amazing who seems to be so far above the other would-be heroes in the town that he’s eliminated all the major villains. In search of some purpose, he ends up working for the release of supervillain Casanova Frankenstein who promptly captures him and begins assembling less powerful villains to his side. What Casanova is about to discover is that Captain Amazing wasn’t his only nemesis. Who are the MYSTERY MEN? 

The Mystery Men were actually backup characters in an underground comic called Flaming Carrot. Instead of Flaming Carrot, we got Captain Amazing, but Mr. Furious and The Shoveler were the only characters to make it into the movie from that comic as far as I understand but I have never read it. The movie flopped hard at the box office in spite of having a fantastic cast and some really interesting ideas, however, it does have a pretty decent-sized cult following. By the way, when I say flopped hard, I mean, it only made back less than half its production costs. Janeane Garofalo is by far my favorite character as The Bowler but she actually hates this thing. Apparently, the production was also a nightmare with most of the cast fighting for a lot of the shoot about the comedic tone of the movie. It kind of makes me wonder if things would have gone better if HAPPY MADISON had done this movie on a smaller budget. They seem to have a knack for working with comedians in an ensemble format. It’s also ironic that Janeane hated this movie because it’s arguably the film she is most known for. 

What stands out most about this thing is just how much it really doesn’t care. If you want a guy who will throw forks at you, Hank Azaria (GODZILLA) plays Blue Raja and yeah, this dude is just going to fork you to death. Wait, that sounded horrible, but yeah, he throws forks. Get your mind out of the gutter. We also have a guy that disappears if you don’t look at him. Kel Mitchell (GOOD BURGER) plays Invisible Boy who was kind of a last-minute addition to the story because they thought his character would be funny and the concept definitely is. We also have a dude named Spleen played by Paul Reubens (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) that can pass gas and blow you completely across the room. By the way – I don’t know that Reubens really had to stretch what he normally does for this role. If you just need a guy who talks like Yoda a little, you have Sphinx played by Wes Studi (AVATAR) who does a pretty great job. We have an angry guy called Furious who just gets angry played by Ben Stiller (ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY). William H. Macy (JURASSIC PARK III) plays Shoveler who will just beat the crud out of you with a shovel. Finally, we get The Bowler who I mentioned earlier who can knock you out or kill you with a bowling bowl that the skull and soul of her dead father inside it. It’s also worth mentioning that Geoffrey Rush (GODS OF EGYPT) and Claire Forlani (ANTITRUST) also star in this. So you get the idea. There is just all kinds of creativity in this one. 

The other thing that stands out is the sets. This movie is actually well made even given the really crazy humorous concepts. I didn’t even get to half of the wackiness that goes on here. This movie won’t be for everyone and some of the humor doesn’t land, but it’s a cult classic for a reason. It’s one of the oddball superhero movies that aren’t tied to Marvel or DC that gave us an ensemble that actually works for the most part.

Overall the soundtrack, pacing, and direction are pretty decent but if you are going to watch this, just know you are about to watch some total weirdness. 

MYSTERY MEN gets a 6 out of 7. I like the fact that it was out of the box even if Janeane Garofalo would like to burn every copy digital or physical ever made. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.