One of a kind genre bending at its best

Rating: 8/10 (8 April 2010)

Incredible movie, I need awhile to get my mind around the genre bending of the story line.
The main characters are your typical Super Bad bunch of nerds, dorks or geeks. The main story line is a tale of revenge with a bizarre mix of characters aimed at the local crime lord with overtones of a Guy Ritchie crime racket (or throw backs to the director's 'Layer Cake'). There is some brilliant black comedy but the main story is very dark and sinister plot involving a crime gang (think Sin City and Watchmen).
A multi-layered movie, the director of 'Layer Cake' could well have called it an 'Upside Down Cake'. The super heroes have no super human powers, the real super hero is 11 years old and female, most of the characters have human weaknesses, the cake has some ridiculous looking icing or frosting (music and comedy) and the identities of the heroes becomes revealed to some of the players. Rather than depict super heroes, we see the absurdity of becoming a vigilante to solve the problems of crime. The problem won't be fixed by "super power" miracles nor will it be fixed with anarchy or vigilance. Our solution is somewhere within the opposite polar views or within our parameters of choice, but where?
The main heroes are Big Daddy (and he was no 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof') and his side kick daughter Hit Girl (and she's no pop-star but a hit-man assassin dressed like a 'Little Miss Sunshine' and loaded with a mouthful of clanger killer lines). Meanwhile the nerds are at work discovering love in all the wrong places.
Best part of the movie is the use of music (in totally inappropriate ways): 'The Barber of Seville Overture', playtime was never so much fun with '(Banana Splits) Tra La La Song', Elivis singing Battle Hymn of the Republic (Glory, glory, hallelujah) and 'Crazy' boogied out in a car seat on the way to a crime.
It seemed to be mainly filmed in Toronto with scenes from New York to make it look like NY, NY.
Highly recommended!!!