The Specials (2000)

The sixth or seventh best superhero team in the world pursue their rightful place in the harshly competitive world of toy tie-ins and fighting evil.

Director:

Craig Mazin

Writer:

James Gunn

Stars:

Rob Lowe, Thomas Haden Church, Paget Brewster

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jordan Ladd	...	Nightbird
Rob Lowe	...	The Weevil
Jamie Kennedy	...	Amok
Mike Schwartz	...	U.S. Bill
Thomas Haden Church	...	The Strobe
Paget Brewster	...	Ms. Indestructible
Kelly Coffield Park	...	Power Chick (as Kelly Coffield)
Sean Gunn	...	Alien Orphan
Judy Greer	...	Deadly Girl
James Gunn	...	Minute Man
Jim Zulevic	...	Mr. Smart
Johnny Mountain	...	News Anchor
John Doe	...	Eight
Abdul Salaam El Razzac	...	Eight
Lauren Cohn	...	Eight

Storyline

America's 7th Best Superhero Team, the Specials, are a group of geeks and oddballs. We get to see one day in their lives as fan and new member Nightbird joins the group, just in time for the group to get a new line of action figures. But the members' extreme personalities and personal issues threaten to rip the group apart.

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | superhero team | action figure | toy | press conference | 

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Taglines:

It doesn't take much to save the world.

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Elbaltázott szuperhősök

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,131 (USA) (22 September 2000)

Gross:

$12,996 (USA) (29 September 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Mindfire Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 18 days.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nightbird: I've been a humongous fan of the Specials since I was knee-high to... something for sure. All my friends would make fun of me because the Specials were not a "cool" group like the Amazing Trio or the Crusaders. But, you know, screw that. I also liked Winger better than Bon Jovi. I still do. I don't care what the critics say.

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Crazy Credits

During the end credits we see an "In Memory: 1970-1993" reference and picture of Mr. Stretch, an original member of the Specials that we are told died of mouth cancer in one of interview segments.

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Connections

References Hogan's Heroes (1965)

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Soundtracks

Tuatara
Written by Tim Digulla and David J. Gardner
Performed by Tipsy
Courtesy of Asphodel Records
By Arrangement with Ocean Park Music Group

User Reviews

A brilliant idea well-played

From the people who brought us "Free Enterprise", "The Specials" is clearly made by the same caliber of geek, but this time it dives into the fantasy. The conceit of this film is pure genius: make a superhero movie in which there are no battles, and nobody uses their powers; just focus on their personal lives and interpersonal conflicts, and play it mostly for laughs. I've seen several reviews here for whom that itself is the complaint. Let them go back to watching "Spawn". Those of you who are able to see the potential in the concept are in for a treat.

Going in, I'd only heard of Rob Lowe and Thomas Haden Church, both of whom are excellent. The surprise is that the rest of the cast keeps step all the way. They all understand the joke here, which is that they are not in on the joke. They're funny by way of taking it utterly seriously. This is not the "Airplane" of superhero movies. These people are completely serious about their past exploits and their powers, which we glimpse only briefly, and hear of in conversation.

The movie's length is perfect. It clocks in at under 80 minutes, disappearing long before the idea becomes tired or overused. I actually wanted to see more, which is far preferable to wishing it were over sooner. I could actually see a TV series based on this concept.

7 out of 10.