The Specials

Nifty low-budget variant on MYSTERY MEN, with a script that's about four times as good. Here, the superheroes are less dysfunctional and more beset by the amorous pangs and gnawing dissatisfactions of everyday life; the humor ranges from the gulpingly broad to the surprisingly observant, deft, life-sized. The movie is visually hideous, but the script is astonishingly lively, and some members of the cast burst out at you. As the Shatneresque team leader, the Strobe, Thomas Haden Church is like a concentrated Swat team of extreme earnestness. And there is a lovely scene--not really funny, but you can feel the audience beaming at it--in which a mongoloid "space orphan," dandled like a pinhead mascot through most of the movie, takes the stage at a techno nightclub and breakdances to "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)."

I was hoping for something funny and maybe in a different direction than "Mystery Men" (which I liked). This wasn't it. Yes, there were witty moments and some of the acting was dead on character. But I never really cared enough about any of the characters. I think this is because the script never seemed to live up to its potential. And the directing never lived up to the script. The leisurely pacing would have better fit a TV movie. I'm glad I got this one free from library.

I rarely rent DVDs, because I see a theatrical film about every other week, and have about 35 movie channels & a DVR to catch the more obscure ones. After reading The Scarecrow Video Guide, I decided to join Netflix and made a list of out-of-the-mainstream movies , and old classics I'd missed. The Specials was the first one I watched.

At the time this was made, it's no wonder it didn't get much of a release. Rob Lowe, was still in the early stages of his West Wing comeback, Thomas Hayden Church was a barely remembered sitcom has-been, & Jamie Kennedy was primarily known as the annoying guy from Scream. The rest of the cast was pretty much unknown. (The trailer on the DVD lists Melissa Joan Hart 4th, despite the fact that she appears in exactly one scene.) On top of the cast issues, the plot sounds similar to Mystery Men, which had bombed a year earlier.

Now, Lowe is respected again, Kennedy is an above the title star (nevermind the quality of the titles), and Hayden-Church is an Oscar nominee. Meanwhile most of the rest of the cast have become cult TV/film favorites... Sean Gunn from Gilmore Girls, Judy Greer from Arrested Development, Paget Brewster from Andy Richter and Huff, and Jordan Ladd from Cabin Fever and Club Dread.

The fun script is what holds it together. Written by (and co-starring) Sean Gunn's brother James halfway between his Troma stint and the unbearable Scooby Doo 2, it's a creative look at the mundane part of being a super-hero. Unlike Mystery Men, which depended too much on special effects, this film has virtually NO action. It's just a series of amusing character pieces. It never really delivers on laughs (except when the gang gets their own action figures), but it's consistently interesting and different. When the film gets to the goofy musical/dance scene so common nowadays, the song featured is not a pop hit, but an obscure 70's novelty song. I found myself grinning ear to ear, despite the fact that it serves NO purpose.

The direction is flat, but fitting to the subject matter. All in all, a fun way to spend 90 minutes and certainly worth a rental.

Next on my film adventure- Steven Soderburgh's Schitzopolis!

This Film is a great example of the fact that you don't need a budget to be a great movie. solid cast performance and a brilliantly funny script show just how easy it is to be successful. while the film leans more towards the fans of the comic book genre with humor more in tune with that vein, which is why it was so good, it wasn't trying to be a movie for everyone... people who don't read comics wont enjoy this half as much as people who do, unless they like their humor dark. mystery men is the closest comparison i can think of, but mystery men tried to hard and lacked the small charm and witty profanity ridden dialogue of the specials, and while mystery men had its moments, it just seemed to rely on visual humor which i found works more for kids like it says in the Specials... "the specials don't exist for the pretty people...they exist for the geek, the outcast" yadda yadda pick this up and laugh...if you don't, well...what are you? dead?

I got this one mostly because I am quite the fan of Judy Greer's and have appreciated Thomas Haden Church and Paget Brewster for quite a while now. I also appreciated "Mystery Men",which this film has been compared to. While I'm not familiar with the X-statix comics,I have a feeling I'd probably derive more satisfaction out of those than this movie,which had some very neat things going for it,but was so laid-back and low-energy that it was difficult to keep an active interest in the movie.

It's tempting to really beat up this flick because of its lack kineticism,but the characters are fairly engaging.In fact,I think this might be,in earnest,the REAL problem with this film. Namely,there are a panoply of characters in this movie,plenty of back story here, a lot of potential for story and yet ONLY 89 MINUTES to tell it,thus characters and their stories are shorted and plot lines are left to dangle. Too many characters,not enough plot or action to fit them all in. More of a documentary feel to it then a comedy and/or action-adventure.

In short,a curious film that is most certainly NOT for all tastes.