The Specials

From the people who brought us "Free Enterprise", "The Specials" is clearly made by the same caliber of geek, but this time it dives into the fantasy. The conceit of this film is pure genius: make a superhero movie in which there are no battles, and nobody uses their powers; just focus on their personal lives and interpersonal conflicts, and play it mostly for laughs. I've seen several reviews here for whom that itself is the complaint. Let them go back to watching "Spawn". Those of you who are able to see the potential in the concept are in for a treat.

Going in, I'd only heard of Rob Lowe and Thomas Haden Church, both of whom are excellent. The surprise is that the rest of the cast keeps step all the way. They all understand the joke here, which is that they are not in on the joke. They're funny by way of taking it utterly seriously. This is not the "Airplane" of superhero movies. These people are completely serious about their past exploits and their powers, which we glimpse only briefly, and hear of in conversation.

The movie's length is perfect. It clocks in at under 80 minutes, disappearing long before the idea becomes tired or overused. I actually wanted to see more, which is far preferable to wishing it were over sooner. I could actually see a TV series based on this concept.

7 out of 10.

The specials is nothing short of brilliant. The comedy is wonderful, with a nice Clerk's style hard edge to most of it. The characters well realized, and the superhero world is taken to a logical, and never used before conclusion. Most importantly though, is the fact that the film has real heart, and characters you want to see more of. Special indeed.

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 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!

My husband and I stumbled upon this movie one Sunday afternoon on the WB. Being the comic book geeks that we are, we were shocked that we had never heard of this movie. For two hours we couldn't stop laughing. The humor was dead on. The action figure release party ( when they finally unveiled the products) had me near tears. When Deadly girl gets creeped out by Alien Orphan.. hilarious!!!! ( "He's smiling.".. "MAKE HIM STOP!")

If you are looking for a movie with great action scenes, lots o' sfx.. then this is NOT the movie for you. If you like witty, dry humor.. then I suggest you check this one out. Oh, and it's a must see for all you comic book geeks too.