In 1999, TV commercial director Kinka Usher directed Mystery Men, which was released to poor reviews and a disappointing box-office performance, bringing in just $33 million against a budget of $68 million. And while Roger Ebert described it as “a long, shapeless, undisciplined mess,” I’m here to defend this underappreciated gem.
The film boasts a stacked ensemble cast, including Ben Stiller, William H. Macy, Gregg Kinnear, Geoffrey Rush and Hank Azaria. Stiller plays Mr. Furious, a man who simply has anger issues; Macy plays The Shoveler, a blue-collar worker who wields a spade as a weapon; and Azaria plays The Blue Raja, a self-proclaimed “master of silverware.” And trust me, there’s plenty more weird and wonderful characters throughout the film too.
Set in the fictional Champion City, a futuristic-looking metropolis that wouldn’t look out of place in Blade Runner (1982), the city plagued by gangs and supervillains. Keeping the city safe is Captain Amazing, a clear parody of Superman.
Our heroes are a ragtag group of wannabe “superheroes” who possess no actual superpowers. They look up to Captain Amazing, who is their role model and inspiration, and attempt to prove themselves by taking down two gangs that wreak havoc upon the city: the Red Eyes and the Disco Boys. The Disco Boys are led by Tony P and his right-hand man, Tony C. Just imagine Vincent and Jules from Pulp Fiction (1994) donning leopard-print disco suits and wielding silver- and gold-encrusted handguns.
I would like to highlight Geoffrey Rush’s performance as what I believe to be one of the greatest movie villain names of all time: Casanova Frankenstein. It’s always great when you can tell an actor is just having fun with their role, and that’s clear as day here with Rush’s over-the-top theatrical performance. He, just like the film itself, understands that the funniest way to play something ridiculous is often to treat it completely seriously. Just like Leslie Nielsen in Airplane! and The Naked Gun films, Rush plays the over-the-top villain completely straight, which is another example of the film’s commitment to absurdity.
The song “All Star” by Smash Mouth made its film debut in this film, and in the song’s music video scenes of the film are shown. But everyone automatically thinks of DreamWorks’ Shrek (2001) when they hear this song.
When looking at reviews and the online conversation surrounding Mystery Men, you’d no doubt see countless people describing the film as being way ahead of its time. But I disagree with this. Blade (1998), X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man (2002) all came out within three years of Mystery Men and all did well commercially and critically. Spoof films were alive and well too, with the first two Austin Powers films releasing in the late ’90s.
So, was Mystery Men really before its time? Or was it that audiences were sceptical of superhero films following the poor reception to Batman & Robin (1997)? Even then, that film still made over $230 million at the box office. Whatever the reason may have been, Mystery Men has since acquired a cult following, helped by a successful home-video release.
So why watch this film? The absurdist comedy, goofy costumes, over-the-top performances and sheer number of quotable lines should be enough to entice anyone. So please, join the many people like myself and give this film a chance now, because it wasn’t afforded one then.
