Mystery Men (1999)

Director:

Kinka Usher

Writers (WGA):

Neil Cuthbert (written by)
Bob Burden (creator: comic book series)

Release Date:

6 August 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Fantasy

Tagline:

This summer expect the unexpected

Plot:

A group of inept amateur superheroes must try to save the day when a supervillian threatens to destroy a major superhero and the city.

Plot Keywords:

Superhero | Sphinx | Spleen | Bowling | Rajah

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Hank Azaria	...	Blue Raja
Janeane Garofalo	...	Bowler
William H. Macy	...	Shoveler
Kel Mitchell	...	Invisible Boy
Paul Reubens	...	Spleen
Ben Stiller	...	Furious
Wes Studi	...	Sphinx
Greg Kinnear	...	Captain Amazing / Lance
Geoffrey Rush	...	Casanova Frankenstein
Lena Olin	...	Dr. Anabel Leek
Eddie Izzard	...	Tony P
Artie Lange	...	Big Red
Pras	...	Tony C (as Prakazrel Michel)
Claire Forlani	...	Monica
Tom Waits	...	Doc Heller

Also Known As:

Hombres misteriosos (Argentina) (Spain) (Venezuela) (video title) [es]
Heróis Muito Loucos (Brazil) (video title) [pt]
Les supposés héros (Canada: French title) [fr]
Mystery Men (France) [fr]
Oi mystirioi (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
Quase Super-Heróis (Brazil) [pt]
Seitsemän seinähullua sankaria (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for comic action violence and crude humor.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:PG (cut) | Finland:K-10 | Iceland:10 | Iceland:LH (video rating) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:PG | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:MG6

Filming Locations:

Huntington Library & Botanical Gardens - 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The sign for the diner is written in Cyrillic - it makes no sense in Russian, but the sounds the letters themselves make is indeed the English word 'diner'.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the battle at the retirement home, Captain Amazing rips off the Pepsi emblem on his right shoulder, but throughout the rest of the movie the emblem is still there.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Heller: [offering an old lady candy at the Senior dance] Would you like something sweet?
Old Lady: [impressed] Oh!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Pushing Daisies: Smell of Success (#1.7)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Keep, Keep Movin'

Who Says Superheroes Have To Be Super?

In the history of movies based on comic books, "Mystery Men" is one of the most underrated ones. This is no regular comic superhero movie! It follows the exploits of a motley crew of well-meaning wannabes, which include Mr. Furious (played by Ben Stiller), the Bowler (Janeane Garofalo), the Shoveller (William H. Macy), the Blue Rajah (Hank Azariah) and the Spleen (Paul Reubens). "Mystery Men" spoofs several aspects of superhero movies like "Superman" or "Batman," such as the pithy sayings, and the questions about secret identities. Most of the superheroes aren't billionaires like Bruce Wayne, but blue-collar types with menial jobs and neurotic home lives. So it looks as if director Kinka Usher is making the heroes into something the average viewer can relate to. I found "Mystery Men" to be visually stimulating and very funny. Even if it doesn't turn into a franchise, it's still a joy to watch!