# Mystery Men (1999)

### reviewed by
Akiva Gottlieb

    Mystery Men *1/2

rated PG-13 Universal Pictures starring Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Ben Stiller, Wes Studi, Greg Kinnear, Lena Olin, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Waits, Eddie Izzard, Claire Forlani based on the comic book by Bob Burden written by Neil Cuthbert directed by Kinka Usher

It could have been a summer hit; perhaps the beginning of a much-needed franchise for Universal Pictures. The superheroes-without-superpowers storyline seemed to appeal to all of us underachieving Americans. So where did "Mystery Men" go wrong? In my opinion, at almost every turn. "Mystery Men" is the story of 7 self-made-heroes out to fight supervillain Cassanova Frankenstein(Geoffrey Rush) in order to get back their real superhero, Captain Amazing(Greg Kinnear). The film is supposed to be a mockery of comic-book action franchises, but the jokes just aren't funny at all. The only real high-notes in an "all-star" cast(which includes Paul Reubens a.k.a Pee Wee Herman) are Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo, who each have the talent to make any line into a sardonic, cynical catchphrase. While the film's basic idea sounds like fun, "Mystery Men" is actually somewhat of a bore thanks to Neil Cuthbert's one-note script and Kinka Usher's wannabe-hip-and-stylish direction. Even as a comedy sketch, there wouldn't be much to "Mystery Men", so why torture us with a feature film? "Mystery Men" also disappointed at the box office, so thankfully, no sequel is being planned.

a capsule review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com teenagemoviecritic.8m.com

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