MYSTERY
MEN (1999) |
| Starring
Hank Azaria, Claire Forlani, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Izzard, Greg
Kinnear, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Lena Olin, Paul Reubens,
Geoffrey Rush, Ben Stiller, Wes Studi and Tom
Waits. Screenplay by
Neil Cuthbert.
Directed by Kinka
Usher.
Distributed by Universal Pictures. 122 minutes. Rated PG-13. |
 
|
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Ever get told after the
fact about a great party? Everyone had a great time, but no matter how
much they try to explain to you how wild it was, you just don’t quite
get the gist of it.
Mystery Men suffers from the same problem.
Everyone’s having a great time on the screen. Not so much so in the
audience.
Mystery Men has an incredible cast, including Ben
Stiller, Janeane Garafalo, William H. Macy, Greg Kinnear, Hank Azaria,
Geoffrey Rush, Paul Reubens, Tom Waits and others. It has a clever
idea, a bunch of loser superhero wannabes pressed into action when the
real hero of their city meets with foul play.
The superpowers of these
heroes range from the silly (Azaria throws forks, Macy wields a shovel)
to the sick (Reubens’ atomic powered farts, an idea which wasn’t funny
five years ago when Howard Stern stole it from an old National
Lampoon "Foto Funnies." Or even when National Lampoon
originally came up with it in the 70s.) I know that is supposed to be
the point, but the pointed irony doesn’t help.
The love story between
Stiller and the beautiful but completely wasted Claire Forlani (Meet
Joe Black) feels totally tacked on. I’m sure the making of
Mystery Men would make a better movie than the one that has come
out. (8/99)
Alex Diamond
Copyright
© 1999 PopEntertainment.com.
All rights reserved. Revised:
November 16, 2022. |
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Copyright
© 1999 PopEntertainment.com.
All rights reserved. Revised:
November 16, 2022.
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