Mystery Men
Tags: cult, comedy, psychedelic, humor

Plot synopsis:
In the metropolis of Champion City, the would-be superhero team of Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), the Shoveler (William H. Macy), and the Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) attempt to make a name for themselves, but their suspect skills make them ineffective, and they find themselves upstaged by the city's most successful superhero, Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear). However, Amazing is finding that his effectiveness at fighting crime has practically made his job obsolete, and without any worthy adversaries remaining (some of them are either dead, in exile, or still in jail), his corporate sponsors are beginning to pull their funding. To create a need for himself, Amazing uses his alter ego, billionaire lawyer Lance Hunt, to argue for the release of insane supervillain Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush). The plan backfires; once reunited with Tony P (Eddie Izzard) and his Disco Boys, Casanova Frankenstein blows up the insane asylum, captures Amazing, and prepares to unleash a doomsday device: the "Psycho-frakulator", which lethally bends reality. Mr. Furious, while spying on Casanova Frankenstein's mansion, discovers Amazing's capture and informs the others.
After an unsuccessful rescue attempt, the three realize they need more allies, and through word-of-mouth and try-outs, they recruit Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), the Spleen (Paul Reubens), and the Bowler (Janeane Garofalo). The newly formed team "assaults" Casanova, which only succeeds in annoying him and damaging his car. While drunk from celebrating their victory, the team is nearly killed in retaliation by Tony P and the Disco Boys, but they are saved at the last minute by the Sphinx (Wes Studi). The Sphinx trains them, but his methods annoy Mr. Furious – he has them complete rote team-building exercises and speaks exclusively in Chiasmus. They also seek out mad scientist Doc Heller (Tom Waits), who specializes in non-lethal weaponry, to equip them for their battle.
The group breaks into Casanova's mansion during a gathering of several of the city's gangs; but, while attempting to free Captain Amazing, they inadvertently set off the Psycho-frakulator, killing him instead. Without Amazing, the team despairs of saving the city, but the Shoveler delivers a pep-talk that succeeds in uniting and inspiring them.
With new-found purpose, they assault the mansion and, by making effective use of their negligible superpowers and Heller's weapons, manage to subdue most of Casanova Frankenstein's henchmen. Unfortunately, as the heroes approach Casanova Frankenstein, he reveals that he is holding Mr. Furious' girlfriend Monica (Claire Forlani) hostage, and proceeds to activate the Psycho-frakulator, which begins to wreak havoc upon the city. While the team tries to stop the device, Mr. Furious takes on Casanova Frankenstein. After initially taking a beating, Mr. Furious unleashes his inner rage and manages to fight effectively for the first time. He defeats Casanova Frankenstein, who is thrown into the core of the Psycho-frakulator and killed by its reality-bending powers. The rest of the team helps The Bowler use her bowling ball to destroy the device and escape the mansion as it implodes.
The team is interviewed by reporters, begging to know their team name. As they argue among themselves, one reporter states "Well, whatever you may call them, Champion City will forever owe a debt of gratitude to these 'Mystery Men'," but the others are too busy arguing to hear it.

Review: It's not a perfect movie, but it definitely deserves another look and perhaps a cult following.The story: a bunch of low-level superheroes save the day.
Time for the Mystery Men: Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller, gets mad), The Shoveller (William H.
Macy, beats people with shovels), The Blue Raja (Hank Azaria, British, throws forks), The Bowler (Janeane Garafolo, bowls), Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell, guess what he does), The Spleen (the great Paul Reubens, farts), and The Sphinx (Wes Studi, cuts guns in half with his mind, I am not kidding).
I really wanted this film to be good, and unlike most of my recent trips to the cinema (read Blair Witch Project) I wasn't disappointed.Mystery Men was definitely not a high-effects, tension-filled action flick, it was a comedy.
Macy plays a great straight man, while Kel Mitchell and the fart-powered Paul Rubens are added just to keep the kiddies happy.Though the sets are bizarre (and at times seem like ripoffs from both Batman and Blade Runner), and some of the jokes are obvious, it is still just plain funny.
MYSTERY MEN is a send-up of every superhero flick you've ever seen, but its unlikely super-wannabes are so interesting, varied, and well-cast that they are memorable characters in their own right.
The comedic talents of the actors playing the Mystery Men -- including one Mystery Woman -- are a perfect foil for Wes Studi as what can only be described as a bargain-basement Yoda, and Geoffrey Rush as one of the most off-the-wall (and bizarrely charming) villains ever to walk off the pages of a Dark Horse comic book and onto the big screen.
Director Kinka Usher stays true to his own credo, "Play it straight and they will laugh," and with the help of a superb cast has crafted what should become the #1 cult film of all time, `Mystery Men.'  When an evil villain, Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) is released from a mental institution, captures the local superhero, Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear), and threatens to take over Champion City, three wanna-be superheroes, Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), The Shoveler (William H.
Mr. Furious has his rage; The Shoveler, his shovel; The Blue Raja flings silverware (mainly forks, and the occasional spoon, but never a knife); the Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) can turn invisible as long as no one is watching; the Sphinx (Wes Studi), a heavy hitter from down south, is very mysterious and can break guns in half with his mind.
In the history of movies based on comic books, "Mystery Men" is one of the most underrated ones.
"Mystery Men" spoofs several aspects of superhero movies like "Superman" or "Batman," such as the pithy sayings, and the questions about secret identities.
The only one who COULD defeat the bad guy is "Captain Fantastic", who unfortunately was captured by Cassanova and the Mystery Men are forced into action.I loved the many quirky characters in the film.
This movie deserved better It's great fun, has some wonderful jokes and sight gags, some in-stuff for the "Geeks" amongst us (And we know who we are), and the effects are indeed effectual.
When superhero Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) is kidnapped by the lascivious Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush), it's up to superhero wannabes Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), The Shoveller (William H.
Along the way, the group is joined by Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), Spleen (Paul Reubens), Baby Bowler (Janeane Garofalo) and The Sphinx (Wes Studi), all of whom provide some riotous lines.Among other things, this was the first place where I ever saw comedian Eddie Izzard (he plays Tony P., one of Frankenstein's henchmen).
Macy was hysterical as family man The Shoveler, Hank Azaria's Blue Raja was a master of throwing forks (never knives), Janeane Garofalo (back when she was likable) was The Bowler, Kel Mitchell as Invisible Boy (who can only turn invisible if no one is watching), and even Paul "Pee Wee Herman" Reubens was a riot as The Spleen, who took passing gas to a whole new level.The ringleader of the group is Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) who seems to become the focal point of the movie more than anyone else.
I thought it a bit ironic Stiller would trash this film given most of the scenes that annoyed me involved him, although he does redeem his role by movie's end.The group of supervillians is impressive as well, led by Geoffrey Rush as Casanova Frankenstein and Eddie Izzard and Pras as the two Tonys.
Even Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) isn't much in the way of a superhero to the Mystery Men, given how condescending he acts towards them and how full of himself he is.
Kinnear did provide a great performance there, no question.If you're a fan of what Marvel is putting out these days, this movie will make you laugh and cheer for the good guys..
A good cast, some quirky dialog, and a director who knows when to just let his cast have a good time all add up to a fun time."Mystery Men" is not a genre flick in the usual sense, nor is it a Ben Stiller vehicle.
Mr. Furious, The Shoveler, and The Blue Raja (who has no blue in his costume, but claims "if you know your history, it makes perfect sense!") are excellent and Stiller, Macy, and Azaria have great chemistry.
Who ever heard of a hero that can only turn invisible when nobody's watching, or a mainstream superhero with sponsors like Pepsi, who is so good (apparently) that he has to let criminals out of jail in order to have somebody to fight?
I am a little sick of these types of movies myself, but I do not hold it against "Mystery Men", which I liked when I first saw it and still do..
I always try and find something good in a movie yet this defied me in watching Mystery Men. I sat there for what seemed like ages whilst failing to be entertained by any aspect of this film, not helped by my family watching it because I had said it was supposed to be really funny and their reaction was less than pleased.
William H Macy, who i consider one of the most underrated actors of our time, and the rest of the cast looked like they were really trying to make something good out of this film, yet they failed for an inexplicable reason.
Maybe it was the script, or the jokes or the general idea of the film but it just did not work in any way, it tried to rip off many aspects of the superhero genre in an intelligent way, but failed.Overall I have to say that watching this film was one of the most painful experiences of my movie loving life and if you ever come across a copy of this film i urge you to take the tape and burn it to prevent others from watching it.
Part of it is the script--ill-plotted but full of good jokes--but most of it is the triumphant cast: Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Hank Azaria, William H.
Macy and Paul Reubens are among the faux ubermenschen; Geoffrey Rush, Eddie Izzard and Lena Olin are among the villains; and Greg Kinnear is, shockingly, very near to sublime as Champion City's reigning superhero, Captain Amazing.The whole movie is a show-biz metaphor.
It seems like some people here on this site are giving Mystery Men credit for simply trying to be funny and having some cool actors.Quite simply, this film is a mess..
The characters all seem interesting enough and their backgrounds amusing, but all of that potential is completely disregarded to make room for stupid jokes and quibbling between characters, obviously a decision from the people putting this thing together.Plotwise, Champion City is protected by Captain Amazing (Kinnear), but his success makes it tough for the small-time crime fighters like Mr. Furious (Stiller), The Shoveler (Macy) and the Blue Raja (Azaria) to make a difference.
I'll tell you what the mystery is as far as I am concerned: how a cool, extremely witty, and thoroughly entertaining movie like this one can fail at the box-office when far less worthy films not only make massive profits, but go on to spawn umpteen often inferior sequels.
It does little to build my faith in humanity.For me, Mystery Men is two hours of sheer joy, with some incredibly funny lines of dialogue, excellent special effects, imagination to spare, and wonderful characters brought to life by a superb cast, my favourite performances of the whole film being from Wes Studi as The Sphinx, who continually spouts hilarious pearls of wisdom, and Geoffrey Rush as delightfully devious villain Casanova Frankenstein.Oh well, if the general public can't appreciate such a creative, quirky and innovative gem, it's their loss; I guess it'll be up to the select few with far superior taste to keep the flame alive....
Enter the Mystery Men: Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), The Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), The Shoveler (William H.
Mystery Men (1999, Dir. Kinka Usher) When Captain Amazing is kidnapped by Casanova Frankenstein a group of superheroes combine together to create a plan.
Now, the group who include such heroes as Mr. Furious, The Shoveller and The Blue Raja must put all the powers together to save everyone they know and love.The film 'Mystery Men' has one of the best combination of cast in a comedy film.
The films contains amazing talent from the likes of Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H.
The most tuned in audience for this film would be people who really enjoy comic books and/or superhero shows and are intellectual enough to appreciate the absurdity of them.I understand that there was a Mystery Men comic before this.
Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) has always kept Champion City safe from the evil bad guys, keeping a band of wannabe super heroes in the shadows; but when Captain Amazing is captured by his arch nemesis Cassanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) its finally time for The Blue Raja (Hank Azaria), The Shoveller (William H.
Macy), Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller) and more to step foreword and save the day.Mystery Men is littered with truly ridiculous characters, each with their own spin on the superhero as we know it and they all perform brilliantly to make this film a very crazy and very funny ride.7/10 it's very silly and great fun.
Mystery Men is not your average superhero flick, but also it is definitely not on the same lines as Batman, Superman, the X-men, Daredevil and so many other comic book adaptation movies.
And whilst, the cast is made up of virtually non-A listers, the fact that it has an array of stellar acting talent in the shape of Ben Stiller, William H Macy, Greg Kinnear, Hank Azaria and Geoffery Rush,of whom all provide really good performances as their characters, is impressive still.
By means of which i am saying that the likes of the X-Men trilogy, Batman, Fantastic Four etc have become so accepted by the mainstream and in the Hollywood movie business that its initial comic book roots and origins have been stripped away and as a result, its cult factor has deteriorated.
The film has a wonderful cast: Ben Stiller, Bill Macy, Hank Azaria, Greg Kinnear, Geoffrey Rush, Jeanne Garofalo, Eddie Izzard, Paul (Pee-wee Herman) Reubens and, best of all, the deep-voiced singing legend that is Tom Waits.
Great name and he plays the character way over the top but i loved it.My favorite moment is when Mister Furious says Captain Amazing and Lance Hunt are the same person and the shoveler explains why that's impossible..
Macy, Stiller, Rush and others deliver wonderful performances and Neil Cuthbert's script bring's Burden's comic book to life.I tend to choose films by screenwriter as opposed to actor, director etc.
So, if you are like me and x ray the script of a film, you will love Mystery men..
The core trio are very good: Mr. Furious (Stiller), the Shoveler (Macy) and Raja (Azaria) form the epicenter of a great cast.
While it may not be the most successful or best movie ever, Mystery Men provides a great comedy that spoofs superheroes.
Captain Amazing doesn't wear glasses."  Ben Stiller's Mr. Furious character is by far the best and funniest character in the movie.
Macy), Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), and The Blue Rajah (Hank Azaria) are 2nd rate super-heroes who are trying desperately to protect Champion City from evil, but there's a little problem- Champion City already has a superhero- Greg Kinnear's CAPTAIN AMAZING!
This is really my kind of humor !But the gathering of a great cast of actors and the professional looks (camera work/costumes/special effects) are the most important thing in this movie !
The cast is just amazing with special accolades going out to Hank Azaria as 'the Blue Raja', Geoffrey Rush as 'Casanova Frankenstein' and who could forget Ben Stiller as 'Mr. Furious'.
As the terrible mysterious Sphinx says: "You will need more than Forks and Flatulence..." - but do you?A fun Comic-Book Superhero movie that uses the premise of real people dressing up and fighting crime.
And, of course, being real people - they are rather lame at it, over-shadowed by the city's real hero, Captain Amazing.The sadness and sheer stupidity of grown men (and women) running around dressed up as Super-Heroes is the main gag of the film, and this is played fairly straight - with conflicting home-lives and the effect on jobs acted out in several scenes.
But it's mainly fart gags, sarcasm and situation-comedy that provide the laughs throughout the film.All the cast turn in good performances, but it is Hank Azaria (Blue Rajah) that really makes it for me.
All-Star cast with Ben Stiller, Pee-wee, Geoffrey Rush, Eddie Izzard, Garrofalo, Macy, etc., etc.If you're looking for the funniest movie out there this is it..
Not since "The Simpsons" have so many incompetent, mediocre characters been made to appear so heroic.A one line description of the plot--a group of untalented super-hero wannabees struggle to save a real superhero and their city--sounds like a recipe for a disastrous film.
I must confess that I avoided watching this film as I thought it sounded rather silly...However, despite my initial reservations, I finally gave in and watched it - and was surprised at how enjoyable I found it.This film is a superb spoof of super hero films like the Batman films, the X-Men, Spiderman, e.t.c - and yet it still retains some original ideas.The humour seemed reminiscent of the Naked gun movies, so if you liked those then I would recommend this to you.It could have been funnier and sillier (perhaps a few Batman 'BAMS' and 'BIFFS' during the final fight-scene), but I think the production team wanted to keep an element of more subtle tongue-in-cheek humour and in so-doing they were able to retain an element of plausibility (if thats the right word ?!) and a better story overall.
The thing with "Mystery Men" is, you need to have a certain understanding of the idiosyncrasies of superhero comic books and be able to laugh at them.
If you grew up reading comic books or watching "Superfriends" or the live-action "Batman" on TV, you'll probably like "Mystery Men."  If you never found anything particularly entertaining or humorous about that genre, you won't enjoy "MM."  As one who grew up on superheroes, I loved this movie!
This is why I feel a lot of people did not understand the film or thought it was stupid.I never get tired of Mystery Men. It never takes itself too seriously and often displays a witty sarcasm when dealing with the main characters.
Fans of Ben Stiller who are really familiar with his style of humor will have a much better appreciation for the kind of corny dialogue he expels throughout the movie.The set designers, art directors and Kinka Usher did a great job in capturing the mood of what a real super hero city could possibly be like.
I think the setting and mood of Mystery Men is much more appealing as a comic book world than any of the Batman movies ever were.
When Spleen discusses how he got his powers from a curse, it sounds like he's reading directly from a comic book, and you get the feeling that many heroes introduce themselves by their origin story, and they concern themselves with writing a theme song.The amount of talent gathered in this movie is awesome as well, and you can definitely see that each actor was having a great time working on the film.
Give me a break!If you grew up reading tons of superhero comics and watched the Batman TV show, you'll love this film.
The director does a GREAT job of making the movie LOOK LIKE A COMIC BOOK.
At several points, the effect is striking -- you can just *see* what the scene would look like if it were drawn by a comics illustrator!Good stuff, if you're a comics fan, or if you can watch a funny movie without making notes on the lighting effects or the inconsistencies in the star's makeup..
The art design of the film really fights with its ironic nature.If you're a comic book fan, I recommend renting this movie, if you can find it for cheap.If you're looking for a good superhero parody, check your local listings for the cartoon 'The Tick', it spoofs comic book heroes better than Mystery Men did..
the Mystery Men, are Mr. Furious, The Shoveler, the Blue Raja, Invisible Boy, The Spleen, The Bowler, and The Sphinx.
It's a great movie, and its not just for people who enjoy comic books.
As far as feel-good films go, it outdoes everything else I've seen; it isn't exactly my favorite movie, but it makes me happier to watch it than any other.
The first thing I thought after watching "Mystery Men" was how could this movie be so unpopular?