Special

Just saw this film at the Edinburgh film festival, nearly went to see something else instead and i'm so glad i didn't! First half of the film is very funny, lots of ridiculous yet sorrowful scenes of the main characters self belief in his own superpowers.

I rarely find "comedy " films in any way amusing, but found myself crying with laughter at a lot of this.Very subtle, believable performances which make it heartrending when most of the laughs give way to a film dripping with sadness and important comments about the way we live today, and the search to find something important and special within ourselves. Film looks beautiful too, lots of strange fluorescent lighting. I can't rave about this film enough, its such a gem. Hilariously sad if that makes any sense....

Aside from the time I spilled hot coffee on my lap during "Fiddler on the Roof", I'd say this is one of the most powerful experiences I've had while watching a movie.

This quirky gem of a film is 25% comedy, 25% tragedy, 25% feel-good, 25% depressing, and 100% awesome. Starting off with the most preposterous plot (i.e., a lonely metermaid guy develops special abilities and fights crime while running from strange men in suits), it quickly develops into much more than meets the eye. It's essentially the story of the lone, forgotten individual who's trying to make a difference in this world. In that respect, it can be a sad film. But at the same time it can be funny, warm and deeply inspiring.

Thanks largely to an absolutely brilliant performance by Michael Rapaport as the metermaid guy, this movie takes you on a crazy ride through every emotion you've ever had and some you haven't had yet. I laughed, felt sad, felt angry, felt the warm fuzzies, felt pity and felt empowered. I can't remember the last time I cared so much about a movie character. It's funny because I began watching this film not liking him very much (after all, who likes metermaids??), but quickly he became one of the most lovable misfits since "Amélie".

Never have I seen the plight of the superhero so wonderfully presented and fleshed out in human terms. Whether we wear a cape or not, we're all trying to change the world in our own ways. You, yes you sitting there reading this, could be a superhero. This movie presents us with that idea, and (unlike Spiderman, Batman, Catwoman, etc) it does not slip into fantasy territory where we lose touch with our perspective. Instead it remains firmly rooted in reality and thus allows us to see ourselves in the hero's role. That's where this movie draws its power to affect us. It's the story of us all. Watch it and learn about yourself & the people around you.

Other great, obscure movies that this reminded me of: a Michael Keaton film called "The Merry Gentleman" (2008), a must-see Korean movie called "The Foul King" (2000), and a powerful Australian flick called "Noise" (2007).

Best movie at the Austin Film Festival. One of the best movies of the year. Funny, emotional, and one of the few recent movies that is generally unpredictable.

Michael Rapaport is brilliant. He has a subtlety about him that I did not expect from his TV show, "The War at Home." He has scenes of great physical comedy, and emotional scenes that nearly brought a tear to my eye.

I don't want to give away anything about the story. The log-line gives all the information for you to know what the movie is about. Seek this movie out. Take your friends with you.

It is too easy for us to just exist throughout our lives. It is up to us as individuals to make ourselves truly Special.

at first when the film started i thought it was going to be a long drawn out cheap indie film but i loved it, this film had the same feel to it as darko did but with this film i was not left feeling confused and bewildered, the acting in this film is the same class of such classics like darko and eternal sunshine of the spotless mind that you don't realise that there is no big names in this film but you are sure that they will be in big films to come. so if independent movies are your thing this film is a must see. P.S there is a lot of super hero films coming out at the moment(spiderman 3 fantastic 4.2) but non of them will make you think like this film does

Honestly, this movie is in no way funny - although it could have been, and although it sometimes really made the impression that it was somehow intended to be funny. But it was just tragic. And what was really annoying, was the soundtrack, which was so entirely depressing and really got me close to turn off the movie at times, because it added such a thoroughly negative atmosphere. I couldn't help thinking "if anyone laughs at this, they have a serious empathy problem". Plus i believe, because of the way the story was told and the emotional bias thats created, this movie really drowned somehow. And it surely could have been, fore-mentioned negatives put aside, a pretty good one.