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 | non comic book superhero | 2000s | superhero team | action figure | 

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Taglines:

They're Not Incredible, They're Just Special

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of Paget Brewster's biggest issues with the film is the lack of character introductions via comic book panel freeze frames. It was apparently discussed beforehand but then dropped, and the result for her is a lack of awareness as to who these people are until too far into the film.

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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 Inside Edition (1988)

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Soundtracks

Astral Plane
Written and Performed by Lynnfield Pioneers (as The Lynnfield Pioneers)
Courtesy of Matodor Records

User Reviews

Not so Special

THE SPECIALS is one of those films that, if you're a creative person, inspires you...the way mediocrity inspires creativity. The idea of a bunch of lesser-powered superheroes on their downtime is a good one, and one can see that writer James Gunn is a comic book reader, but the movie just doesn't pull off the concept.

The script just isn't funny. James Gunn tries, but fails. The characters are vague and unfocused. It bothers me that he wrote the script for the upcoming SCOOBY-DOO movie. I can see Scooby shouting, "Rhere's ry rucking rooby rack?!" now. The direction is bland and uninteresting. The picture shows it's small budget. The heroes don't use their powers, and this, to me, is the biggest failing. Okay, this isn't an action picture, and it isn't supposed to be. However, if you have superpowers, you are going to use them. If you can't use them against a foe, you're going to use them to change light bulbs or clean the house or have sex. Painting Jamie Kennedy blue isn't enough. I guess they were saving their budget for the final shots of the movie, but unfortunately, too little, too late.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Specials

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,131, 24 September 2000

Gross USA:

$13,276

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,276

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Mindfire Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1