Mystery Men (1999)

A group of inept amateur superheroes must try to save the day when a supervillian threatens to destroy a major superhero and the city.

Director:

Kinka Usher

Writers:

Neil Cuthbert, Bob Burden (creator)

Stars:

Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, William H. Macy

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Stiller	...	Mr. Furious
Hank Azaria	...	The Blue Raja
William H. Macy	...	Shoveler
Janeane Garofalo	...	The Bowler
Kel Mitchell	...	Invisible Boy
Paul Reubens	...	Spleen
Wes Studi	...	Sphinx
Greg Kinnear	...	Captain Amazing / Lance
Geoffrey Rush	...	Casanova Frankenstein
Lena Olin	...	Dr. Anabel Leek
Eddie Izzard	...	Tony P
Artie Lange	...	Big Red
Pras Michel	...	Tony C (as Prakazrel Michel)
Claire Forlani	...	Monica
Tom Waits	...	Doc Heller

Storyline

In order to generate more endorsement revenue, Champion City's resident superhero Captain Amazing arranges for the release of supervillain Casanova Frankenstein, only to be captured by him. The city's fate rests in the hands of seven loser superhero wannabes: the spoon-flinging Blue Rajah, the shovel-wielding Shoveler, the possessed bowling ball-hurling Bowler, the flatulent Spleen, the only-when-nobody's-looking Invisible Boy, the mysterious Sphinx, and the perpetually-angry Mr. Furious.

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | spleen | sphinx | bowling | rajah | 

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Taglines:

This summer expect the unexpected

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Bob Burden Productions (Comic Book) Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Les supposés héros

Filming Locations:

Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens - 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,017,865 (USA) (6 August 1999)

Gross:

£822,925 (UK) (7 January 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Golar Productions, Dark Horse Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) sits on the fork he shouts 'Claven' - the catchphrase of Prof. Frink from The Simpsons (1989) whom he voices.

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Goofs

When chasing Casanova's Limo in the Shoveller's car, the steering wheel sometimes has a bar in the middle, while in others it doesn't.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dr. Heller: [offering an old lady candy at the Senior dance] Would you like something sweet?
Old Lady: [impressed] Oh!

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Crazy Credits

Dockers Khakis are the official khakis of Champion City.

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Connections

References Frankenstein (1931)

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Soundtracks

Sometimes
Written by Michael Franti
Performed by Spearhead

User Reviews

Fun send-up of comic superheroes

Though I can't claim to be a comic book fanatic, I have read my share, so I guess I'm part of the audience of this film, and I wasn't disappointed. It does run out of steam near the end, it's almost overflowing with ideas, and it seems like Lena Olin, one of my favorite actresses, was left on the cutting room floor. Also, a little of Hank Azaria's Blue Raja can go a long way. Still, it's easy to forgive all of these faults when you have a film which is this much fun. All the actors seem to be having a blast with their roles, especially William H. Macy as the straight-arrow Shoveler, and Janeane Garofalo as The Bowler. And unlike some, I found the design of the city to make the joke even funnier. I also liked how disco was the music of choice of the bad guys; somehow, it seemed appropriate.