Rooting for the Underdogs
Second String Shines in Mystery Men

When Batman debuted on the silver screen in 1989, it offered a dark, brooding vision of the classic caped crimefighter. Since then, the public perception of comic books has taken a darker turn as well. Enter the Mystery Men. This quirky little comedy comes along and lightens the mood, freshens the air, and makes superheroes fun again.

Mystery Men
Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller, center) leads a team of second-teir heroes on a rescue mission of Captain Amazing. (Universal, 1999)
Directed by: Kinka Usher
Written by: Neil Cuthbert, based on the Dark Horse comic book series by Bob Burden
Starring: Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, Geoffrey Rush, and Claire Forlani

Rated PG-13 (for comic action violence and crude humor)
Running time: 121 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 8 out of 10.

Set in the mythical Champion City, Mystery Men tells the story of three wannabe heroes who want to use their powers to help stop crime. The problem is, the city already has a hero, a golden boy called Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) who dispatches the bad guys and gives product endorsements.

When Amazing's arch-nemesis Cassanova Frankenstein (Geoffery Rush) captures the hero, the wannabe heroes take it upon themselves to devise a plan to save the city's protector. Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), The Shoveler (William H. Macy), and Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) decide to enlist the help of other super-powered beings. So like a weird, costumed version of The Magnificent Seven, they begin to gather a team, including Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), Spleen (Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman), and The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo).

As heroes, some of these draftees are lacking. Spleen, for example, has the disgusting power to knock out villains with his tremendous gas. And while Blue Raja (who throws forks) and The Shoveler use rather odd devices for justice, none are more strange than The Bowler, who uses a magical bowling ball imbedded with the skull of her late father.

What makes the story so wonderful are the weaknesses that make each of the heroes so uniquely human. Captain Amazing, despite his powers, frets over the loss of a Pepsi endorsement. Blue Raja still lives at home with his mother and must hide his "secret" life. Such problems are so ordinary, so un-super, that it makes the characters sympathetic and not pathetic.

Although Mystery Men is a comedy, no one told the characters to be funny. We laugh because they take themselves so seriously. Whether it is The Shoveler who implores his wife for understanding about his need to use his "gift of shoveling," or Mr. Furious who squeezes a ball repeatedly in an effort to direct his anger away from his boss, the characters are living a difficult life that we can all - to some extent - relate to. Yet, the situation is so absurd we start laughing at the notion.

There are many great comedians in Mystery Men, so it seems odd that the best performance is given by the straight man in the group. Macy, who has delighted audiences with roles in Pleasantville and A Civil Action, turns in another top-notch showing as The Shoveler. While the other characters are strangely over-the-top at times, The Shoveler is always a simple working man, an everyman. Even though he plays it straight, Macy gets some of the best lines in the movie, and performs some inspired moves with his tool of the trade.

Mystery Men hits every comic book cliche and hammers it home. There are some dazzling special effects, plenty of non-lethal gadgets for catching the bad guys, and -- of course -- a crazy scientist (Tom Waits) who makes them. Thrown into the mix are a number of inside jokes for the comic book crowd, lampooning everything from "origin stories" to secret identities.

Despite its strange humor, Mystery Men delivers a good message. Each of the heroes is little more than a second-rate imitator, but -- because they work together -- they do make a difference. It's enough to make us believe in heroes once more.