Surge of Power (2004)

Director:

Mike Donahue

Writer:

Vincent J. Roth (writer)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Comic book fan happens upon a merchant who reveals Issue No.1 of "Surge of Power", introducing the wacky...

Plot Keywords:

Superhero | Spoof | Comic Book | Violence | Gay Interest

Cast

Jason Allen	...	Costume Party guest
Alison Arngrim	...	Herself
Gene Barsamian	...	Therapist
Joey Bourgeois	...	Young Man / That Guy
Trev Broudy	...	Friend #3
Russ Brown	...	Investor
Harry Cassidy	...	Dr. Cranky
Billy Castro	...	Costume Party Guest
Colleen Crosby	...	Costume Party guest
Shawn Crosby	...	Costume Party Guest
Elizabeth da Costa	...	Professor Beatrice
Erica Doering	...	Guest #3
Erica Doerner	...	Police Officer Barbara
John Ferrell	...	Bully #2
Lou Ferrigno	...	Himself
Bernard Fox	...	Himself
John Gawryk	...	Costume Party Guest
Seth Harrington	...	Scott
Jacob Hobbs	...	Costume Party Guest
Robert Hurt	...	Prof. Ronald Richards
Leslie Jamarillo	...	Tori
Greg Kimble	...	Gavin's Father
Marty Krofft	...	Himself
Jay Krymis	...	Bar Owner
Matt Lemcke	...	Bank Robbery Spectator
David Mandel	...	Himself
Pat Mannion	...	Bank Robber #2
Andy Margolis	...	Boy #2
Rose Marie	...	Herself
Bob May	...	Himself
Marc Mazur	...	Mugger #1
Peter Miller	...	Bully #1
Alan Mills	...	Comic Book Fan
Shawn Mohler	...	Gymnast in Park
Erin Murphy	...	Herself
Noel Neill	...	Aunt Lois
Nichelle Nichols	...	Oman
Hagen O'Brien	...	Barry
Ryan Oswald	...	Boy #1
Butch Patrick	...	Himself
Jason Peeple	...	Costume Party Guest
Charlie Phillips	...	Friend #1
Derek Poirier	...	Bank Robber #1
Karen Rasor	...	Costume Party Guest
Craig Roberts	...	Costume Party Guest
Vincent J. Roth	...	Gavin Lucas / Surge
Jeff Schuetze	...	Friend #2
Liz Sheridan	...	Herself
Bobby Shirley	...	Boy #3
William Shurmann	...	Mugger #3
Victor Stone	...	Jordan
Tom Tangen	...	Comic Merchant / many characters
Tadao Tomomatsu	...	Guy with Radio
Bobby Trendy	...	Himself
John Venturini	...	Hector Harris / Metal Master
Wayne Vincent	...	Costume Party Guest
Hien Vo	...	Police Officer Diana
Lanette Ware	...	Mayor of Big City
Len Wein	...	Himself
Marv Wolfman	...	Himself
Barry Workman	...	Arthur A. Allen

Runtime:

USA:98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Surge of Power Enterprises LLC

Movie Connections:

References "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961)

Soundtrack:

Perla

An underrated superhero comedy

The current rating for this film is about 3, with a large number of 1 votes being cast. I can only speculate, but I suspect the 1 votes are mostly coming from humourless fanboys seeking to view everything that stars like Lou Ferrigno have ever done (like cameos in the two recent Hulk films) checking out this film on that basis, and being unable to deal with its awesome gayness, which is mostly revealed through double entendres in a tamer way than the Ambiguously Gay Duo. (But I am disappointed I didn't detect a reference to Surge Studios...) Either that, or people are not being properly recruited before receiving their gay cards.

Truthfully, it is a bit odd that nearly everyone in the film reads as gay. Even in a Big City, that's not realistic. Not that it has to be realistic (it is a superhero movie after all) but then it should be explained.

The acting in this film is absolutely dreadful. It's NOT the worst I've ever seen, but it's pretty bad. And the effects and editing some times are just as painful to watch.

But there is something so charming about the story. True, some of the charm radiates from Gavin/Surge as a person. But it's a good, sweet, and funny story as well, and the writer deserves the credit. Oh wait! It's the same guy. That's either really adorable or really creepy in a Tom Cruise's ego kind of way. I'm going with adorable until proved otherwise. I wish this film had at least 20 times the budget to see what could be done with it. Consider Hancock, for example.

This film is a treat for fans looking for cameos and references to science fiction or superhero films. You've got the Hulk, Uhura, others (hey, I can't know everyone), and references to pretty much everything.

The recurring appeals to the Christian religion seemed out of place to me. It's a science fiction superhero movie -- not exactly the place to get all religious on us. However, nobody in the film actually received help from a deity to do anything, and that dovetails in with one theme of the film, which is self-confidence.

In summary, I'm looking for more from this team, and somebody needs to fund them properly.