1999’s Mystery Men delivered a delightful superhero parody that appealed to comic book fans, but sadly it did not find a larger audience.
What Is It?
This quirky superhero comedy follows a group of inept but well-meaning misfits with not-so-spectacular powers like The Shoveler (who is really good with a shovel), The Blue Raja (who uses cutlery as weapons), and Mr. Furious (who gets really mad). When they learn that Champion City’s true superhero—Captain Amazing—has been captured by the villainous Casanova Frankenstein, they must band together with other “heroes” and come up with a plan to save the day.
Cast: Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Claire Forlani, Janeane Garofalo, Eddie Izzard, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens
Crew: Kinka Usher (Director), Neil Cuthbert (Writer), Bob Burden (Creator)
Original Release: 1999
Legacy:
This charming and witty superhero spoof sadly had poor timing when it hit theaters and bombed at the box office. But it has since grown into a cult classic and is certainly worth searching out.
A Closer Look:
There have been a number of superhero spoofs on both the big and small screen over the years—from The Tick to The Incredibles to Megamind, and even The Boys. But in 1999, an odd little film hit theaters that was a spin-off of sorts from a comic book not many people knew about (itself a superhero spoof), and it was named after a team not many recognized.
The Mystery Men were introduced in Bob Burden’s Flaming Carrot Comics (which premiered in 1984), and they later had a short-lived title of their own. In the late 1990s, superhero movies seemed to be ramping up with plans for The X-Men, Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, a return of Superman, Hellboy, Green Hornet, and more. So with all of those on the way, Dark Horse, which had published both Flaming Carrot Comics and Mysterymen, felt the time was right and pushed forward with its own superhero movie.
A cast of recognizable names and up-and-comers was put together, and originally Danny DeVito was set to direct and star in the film. That didn’t happen, though, and commercial director Kinka Usher—who had done the “Yo Quiero Taco Bell” and “Got Milk?” campaigns—stepped in to take over. He clearly channeled Tim Burton’s Batman with the look and feel of Champion City, and also brought in a bit of Blade Runner. In addition, he relied heavily on practical effects, which gave the movie a feel that was both cheesy and authentic.
But it’s the ensemble cast of quirky characters that truly brings this film together. These are blue-collar, working-class heroes with dubious powers but just as much conviction as any person putting on superhero tights. And while you might think Ben Stiller would take over the film with his mugging cynicism, he fits right in with the group and never really upstages the other characters. In fact, the cast has such good chemistry that it easily could have carried into additional movies.
Mystery Men is rather subtle with its humor, neither playing off obvious superhero tropes nor going for broad comedy. It shows a love and familiarity with the genre but doesn’t deliver the general satire of something like The Incredibles, nor does it rely much on superhero archetypes beyond Captain Amazing, who is an obvious yet hilarious stand-in for the Captain America/Superman-type character. Mystery Men is more a parody of the genre for people who love comics and superheroes, as opposed to a broader audience that is just familiar with the stereotypes—so its humor works on a different level.
And while the film doesn’t deliver a laugh-a-minute script (though it has its share of laugh-out-loud lines), nor does it slip into slapstick, it continues to delight throughout its two-hour runtime, keeping up the pace and never going too far off course. It may demand a little more attention than the typical non-comics fan is willing to give, but it’s worth the effort, as the witty and fun script ultimately delivers a satisfying film. If you missed this one when it first came out—or dismissed it because it seemed a bit too quirky—I highly recommend giving it another look. This is a superhero comedy from people who love the genre and know how to make a good movie.
Why Was There No Sequel?
When Mystery Men got the green light, there were quite a number of superhero films in development, as mentioned above. But most of those took longer to produce—or never happened—and MM hit the box office when there wasn’t much else in the way of comic book movies in theaters. It didn’t help that it was not a well-known property, and since the Batman movies had already devolved into self-parody, another superhero spoof—especially with unknown characters—seemed superfluous.
The movie was produced on a budget of $68 million but only made back $34 million worldwide, so it was considered a flop. The cast certainly wanted to get back together for another film or two, but Hollywood wasn’t interested in putting more money into a failed property, and we never got a sequel.
Should It Be Rebooted?
Considering the superhero overload we’ve gone through over the twenty-five years since Mystery Men was released, now might be a perfect time to revisit it—because we could use a good parody of the genre. However, it would be a shame to do a full ground-up reboot since the first film was so delightful. Perhaps they could bring in some or all of the original cast—playing aged versions of their characters from the first film—who are now prepping a new generation of Mystery Men to protect Champion City from the many villains out there. That would certainly be a better approach, in my opinion, than a complete reboot. And since the film has attained cult status, perhaps a revival could happen if the right creative team got behind it.
Interesting Facts:
The Flaming Carrot is the leader of the Mysterymen in the comics, but the character was consider too over-the-top for the film.
Even though Mystery Men was a Box Office flop, Smash Mouth’s “All Star” became a hit and a video was made using footage from the film. That song would then go on to be an even big hit when it was used in the first Shrek film in 2001.
Where Can You Watch It?
The film has bee released on DVD, Blu-ray and 4KUHD , and it is also available to purchase VOD. It is available to stream for free (with ads) on Tubi TV.
