Special (2006)

A lonely metermaid has a psychotic reaction to his medication and becomes convinced he's a superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else.

Directors:

Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore

Writers:

Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore

Stars:

Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Rapaport	...	Les
Paul Blackthorne	...	Jonas Exiler
Josh Peck	...	Joey
Robert Baker	...	Everett
Jack Kehler	...	Dr. Dobson
Alexandra Holden	...	Maggie
Ian Bohen	...	Ted Exiler
Christopher Darga	...	Steve
Michael Shamus Wiles	...	Cop #1
Erich Anderson	...	Newscaster
Karyn Bryant	...	Co-host
Trish Nelson	...	Pregnant Teen (as Patricia Ann Nelson)
Franc Ross	...	Crackhead
Marc Schaffer	...	Gorcery Store Mugger (as Marc Shaffer)
Amanda Carlin	...	Mugging Victim

Storyline

LES FRANKEN (Michael Rapaport) leads a painfully unremarkable life as a metermaid until he enrolls in a drug study for an experimental anti-depressant. An unexpected side effect of the drug convinces Les he is developing special powers and must quit his job to answer his new calling in life - Superhero. A very select group of people in life are truly gifted. Special is a movie about everyone else.

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Plot Keywords:

superhero | medication | blood | bloody face | antidote | 

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Taglines:

He's not your ordinary superhero.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 November 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

Especial

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,232 (USA) (21 November 2008)

Gross:

$6,387 (USA) (28 November 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rival Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[last lines]
Les: [repeatedly] You can't make me stop.

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Connections

References Destroy All Monsters (1968)

User Reviews

Interesting but Flawed

Michael Rapaport really saves this movie. Without him it would be much less watchable. It has a very interesting story and it is very well executed in many ways, but has a lot of small missteps that detract from my ability to believe in it as a story.

It's a story of a common, boring everyman (Rapaport) who enters a drug trial for an experimental drug that is supposed to remove people's self-doubt. On him, though, it goes too far, and he begins to believe that he has super powers. This part of the film is, for the most part, well-executed.

However, a lot of little details don't ring true. I won't go through all of them, but early in the movie is one good example: A man goes into a comic book store and tries to sell a comic. We are supposed to believe he is homeless and desperate, but he doesn't look homeless. He has a long gray beard, yes, but he's dressed in clean clothes and his beard is meticulously groomed. It's like the director thought that a long beard was all you needed to look homeless.

Additionally, this may sound like nit-picking, but the director's choice of music in some areas seems way off. A scene will look like it is trying to be dramatic and the music that is playing is some oddball high energy song. Sometimes this works well (like the ending of Dr. Strangelove) but in this case it just looks haphazard.

Overall its worth a watch, but its unfortunate that the film makers couldn't go that extra step and make it a better film.