Comic Book: The Movie (2004) (V)

Director:

Mark Hamill

Release Date:

27 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Hollywood invaded the Comic Book World... Now the real Comic Book Heros are striking back!

Plot:

A host of real-life celebrities - including Hugh Hefner, Stan Lee, and Kevin Smith - journey into the world of comic book fandom...

Plot Keywords:

Comic Book | Convention | Hugh Hefner | Fandom | Fake Documentary

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Mark Hamill	...	Donald Swan
Donna D'Errico	...	Liberty Lass / Papaya Smith
Billy West	...	Leo Matuzik
Joseph Burns	...	Jack Whitney (as Joseph I. Burns)
Roger Rose	...	Taylor Donohue
Jess Harnell	...	Ricky
Lori Alan	...	Anita Levine
Daran Norris	...	Commander Courage / Bruce Easly
Tom Kenny	...	Derek Sprang
Scott LaRose	...	Mac (Comic Store Pal #1)
Gary Anthony Williams	...	Kurt (Comic Store Pal #2)
Arleen Sorkin	...	Ms. Q (studio secretary)
Bob Lange	...	Himself
James Arnold Taylor	...	J.T.
Debi Derryberry	...	Debby Newman

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, sexual content and some drug references.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

San Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Creative Light Entertainment

Trivia:

At the convention, Leo (Billy West) stands next to a cardboard cutout of Fry from the show "Futurama" (1999). Billy West provides the voice of Fry on the show.

Quotes:

Ricky: Hef, you're really, like, my favorite superhero. 'Cause you were talking about how everything was, like, buttoned-down in the 50s, Don. Well, Hef kinda came along and crashed through that wall and broke down all the taboos. You're like Pajama Man, and I could be your sidekick, like I could be Chick... Chick Boy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dean LeCrone vs. the Mutants of Comic-Con (2007)

Soundtrack:

4 Color World

Not that it was bad, but...

I was very excited to see this and sat patiently for two years while it spent months collecting dust on the Miramax shelves, finally being released direct-to-video. I'm in it--kinda. Since I was at the Comic-Con that year--I can see about a fourth of my face in one of the crowd shots--this added to the excitement. And I'm a comic fan, and a Mark Hamill fan and a fan of cartoon voices. So what could go wrong?

So I watched it, finally, and desperately wanted to like it. I mean, it was about comic fans! But...after the first five minutes or so the novelty wore off and I was stuck with a draggy, boring movie. The cast is game, but without much going on it gets a-mighty tedious. Still, it was nice to revisit a great con that I've not been to since two years after it happened.

For a much more entertaining evening, go to the second disk on the DVD package for "Behind the Voices," the hysterical symposium fans sat through to get themselves on film. They cut out most of it, (the guys doing the Animaniacs singing the Country song from memory, Billy West singing "Happy Happy Joy Joy) but it's still great. The movie: C+ The Other Stuff: B+