Superhero Movie (2008)

Director:

Craig Mazin

Writer (WGA):

Craig Mazin (written by)

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The greatest Superhero movie of all time! (not counting all the others)

Plot:

Orphaned high school student Rick Riker is bitten by a radioactive dragonfly, develops super powers (except for the ability to fly), and becomes a hero. |

Plot Keywords:

Dragonfly | Hero | High School | Insect Sting | Hit By Car

Awards:

1 win

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Dec. 20	3:05 PM	SHOW
Fri. Dec. 25	9:00 PM	SHOW

Cast

Drake Bell	...	Rick Riker
Sara Paxton	...	Jill Johnson
Christopher McDonald	...	Lou Landers
Leslie Nielsen	...	Uncle Albert
Kevin Hart	...	Trey
Marion Ross	...	Aunt Lucille
Ryan Hansen	...	Lance Landers
Keith David	...	The Chief of Police
Brent Spiner	...	Dr. Strom
Robert Joy	...	Dr. Hawking
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Dr. Whitby
Robert Hays	...	Blaine Riker
Nicole Sullivan	...	Julia Riker
Sam Cohen	...	Young Rick
Tracy Morgan	...	Professor Xavier
Regina Hall	...	Mrs. Xavier
Marisa Lauren	...	Storm
Craig Bierko	...	Wolverine
Richard Tillman	...	Leg-Shaving Wolverine
Simon Rex	...	The Human Torch
Dan Castellaneta	...	Carlson
Atom Gorelick	...	Stretchy Boy
Alison Woods	...	Stretchy Girl
Eric Artell	...	Sneezo
Sean Simms	...	Barry Bonds
Pamela Anderson	...	Invisible Girl
Miles Fisher	...	Tom Cruise
Brian Carpenter	...	Matthews
Vincent Larusso	...	Bank Robber (as Vincent A. Larusso)
Michael Papajohn	...	"Gimme your wallet"
Anna Osceola	...	"Dr. Hawking, I am such a fan"
Rod McLachlan	...	Actual Editor
John Getz	...	Lunatic Editor
Charlene Tilton	...	Jill's Mother
Jenica Bergere	...	"Mr. Landers!"
Byrne Offutt	...	Reporter Ed
Vic Polizos	...	Undertaker
Daryl J. Johnson	...	"Well, an old guy did get shot over there"
Kent Shocknek	...	News Anchor
Amanda Carlin	...	Principal
Clay Greenbush	...	Dead Blonde Woman's Husband
Kurt Fuller	...	Bank Loan Officer
Craig Mazin	...	"Okay, I come back"
Jonathan Chase	...	Onlooker #1
Kourtney Kaas	...	Onlooker #2
Karlton Johnson	...	Truck Driver
Charles W. Gray	...	"Thanks for the loan, Mr. Thompson" (as Charles Woods Gray)
Wendy L. Walsh	...	Live Reporter (as Wendy Walsh)
Ian Patrick Williams	...	King of Sweden
Elisabeth Noone	...	"Take me...."
Aki Aleong	...	Dalai Lama
Howard Mungo	...	Nelson Mandela
David McKnight	...	Bishop Tutu
Freddie Pierce	...	Tony Bennett
Steve Monroe	...	Nerdy Dragonfly
Jeremiah Hu	...	Asian Hourglass
Matt Champagne	...	"Excuse me, there's a line!"
Susan Breslau	...	Mourner
Nick Kiriazis	...	Police Officer
Aubrie Lemon	...	Dead Blonde Woman
Ajay Mehta	...	Convenience Store Owner
Cameron Ali Sims	...	Xavier's Son
Kimberly 'Lil' Kim' Jones	...	Xavier's Daughter (as Kimberly Jones)
Jordan Rubin	...	The Guy Who Wipes Wolverine's Ass (scenes deleted)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shanna Beauchamp	...	Student
James J. Burke	...	YouTube user (uncredited)
Timothy Farmer	...	Kid in the orange beanie (uncredited)
Hollis Hill	...	Tutu Man #2 (uncredited)
Whitney Ann Jenkins	...	Pink Superhero (uncredited)
Alan Mueting	...	Security Man (uncredited)
Steven Jay Porus	...	Hairy Man (uncredited)
Gene Richards	...	Chicken Man (uncredited)
Marque Richardson II	...	Xavier's Older Son (uncredited)
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	Bandit in Alley (uncredited)
Manu Toigo	...	Award Presenter (uncredited)

Directed by
Craig Mazin

Writing credits (WGA)
Craig Mazin		(written by)

Produced by
Jeff Maynard	....	executive in charge of post-production
Craig Mazin	....	producer
Robin Mulcahy Fisichella	....	line producer: additional photography
David Siegel	....	line producer
Matthew Stein	....	executive producer
Scott Tomlinson	....	co-producer
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer
Robert K. Weiss	....	producer
David Zucker	....	producer

Original Music by
James L. Venable

Cinematography by
Thomas E. Ackerman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Andrew S. Eisen
Craig Herring		(as Craig P. Herring)
Dan Schalk		(as Daniel A. Schalk)

Casting by
Venus Kanani
Mary Vernieu

Production Design by
Bob Ziembicki

Art Direction by
James F. Truesdale

Set Decoration by
Jill Sprayregen Henkel

Costume Design by
Carol Ramsey

Makeup Department
Merribelle Anderson	....	key hair stylist
J.D. Bowers	....	old age dummy sculptor: W.M. Creations Inc.
Marc Boyle	....	hair stylist
Anita Brabec	....	makeup artist
Carlton Coleman	....	special makeup effects artist
Ruth Haney	....	special makeup effects artist
Amy Lederman	....	makeup artist
Lori McCoy-Bell	....	hair department head
Matthew W. Mungle	....	prosthetics: bodies & special makeup applications
Rhonda O'Neal	....	hair stylist
Monica Sabedra	....	hair stylist
Keith Sayer	....	key makeup artist
Janeen Schreyer	....	makeup department head
Laine Trzinski	....	hair stylist
Turner Walker	....	special makeup effects lab technician: W.M. Creations Inc.
Clinton Wayne	....	special makeup effects artist
Crystal Wolfchild	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robin Mulcahy Fisichella	....	production supervisor
Leslie Rodier	....	post-production supervisor
David Siegel	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Josh Bleibtreu	....	second unit director
Audrey Clark	....	additional second assistant director
Greg Hale	....	first assistant director: second unit
Kevin McNamara	....	additional second second assistant director
Richard Oswald	....	second assistant director
David Sardi	....	first assistant director
Andrew Ward	....	second second assistant director
Maileen Williams	....	assistant director: additional photography
Maileen Williams	....	second second assistant director

Art Department
Jory Alvarado	....	drapery foreman
Mychael Bates	....	property master
Tony Bohorquez	....	model maker
Mauro Borrelli	....	illustrator
Chris Buchinsky	....	storyboard artist
James J. Burke	....	graphic designer: re-shoot
Marco A. Campos	....	propmaker foreman
Derek Dean	....	set dresser
Benjamin Edelberg	....	set designer
Joseph Fedo	....	on-set dresser
Justin George	....	art assistant
Kenneth Heimer	....	propmaker
Bill Holmquist	....	construction coordinator
Jeffery J. Jenkins	....	head painter
Mark Kelly	....	property master: second unit
George Lee	....	set designer
David Loitz	....	lead man
Walt Mikolwski	....	general forman
Richard 'Rocky' Nichols	....	assistant property master
Eric Rosenberg	....	graphic designer
Lee Ross	....	lead scenic
Jessica Samuelson	....	props
Gary Thomas	....	storyboard artist
Taylor Thompson	....	art production assistant: reshoots
Michael A. Truesdale	....	art department coordinator
Pete von Sholly	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Michael J. Benavente	....	supervising sound editor
Sarah Bourgeois	....	sound assistant
Daniel Brock	....	sound mixer: second unit
Michael J. Broomberg	....	foley artist
David E. Fluhr	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gary A. Hecker	....	supervising foley artist
David Kelson	....	sound mixer
Larry Kemp	....	sound editor
Tricia Linklater	....	first assistant sound editor
Steve Maslow	....	sound re-recording mixer
Myron Nettinga	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jeremy Peirson	....	sound designer
Jeremy Peirson	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Jeff Porrello	....	boom operator
Rocky Quiroz	....	utility sound technician
Greg ten Bosch	....	sound effects editor
Paul Tirone	....	adr recordist

Special Effects by
Ron Bolanowski	....	special effects coordinator
Jim Boulden	....	animatronic animals
Robert Kato DeStefan	....	body shop technician: Frontline Design
John J. Downey	....	special effects gangboss
Michael Lantieri	....	special effects supervisor
John Shea	....	suit fabricator
Michael B. Williams	....	specialty costume crew: Frontline Design Inc.
Bob Mano	....	mechanical department: Frontline Design Inc. (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
David Alexander	....	visual effects supervisor: Entity FX
Jon Anastasiades	....	digital compositor
Sabrina Arnold	....	visual effects producer: Zoic Studios
Suzette Barnett	....	compositor
Pharoah Barrett	....	3D artist
Geeta Basantani	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Mat Beck	....	senior visual effects supervisor: Entity FX
Madalina Bland	....	roto artist
Christopher Blazick	....	pipeline engineer: EntityFX
Kristen Branan	....	head of production: Zoic Studios
August Coleman	....	compositor
Matthew Collorafice	....	digital compositor
Sam Dabbs	....	end credits sequence
Mike Diltz	....	digital compositor
Saeed Faridzadeh	....	digital compositor: Zoic Studios
Ben Funk	....	digital compositor
Randy Goux	....	visual effects supervisor
Junji Hirano	....	3D artist
Junji Hirano	....	digital effects artist: Entity FX
Graham Houston	....	visual effects artist
Nathan Ilejay	....	technical coordinator: Entity FX
Eli Jarra	....	visual effects supervisor: Entity FX
John Kearns	....	digital restoration
Annabelle Kent	....	digital compositor
Paulina Kuszta	....	visual effects coordinator
Aaron N. Leichter	....	I/O coordinator: Entity FX
Andrew Lema	....	digital effects artist: Entity FX
Kymber Lim	....	visual effects executive producer: entity fx
Mark Lipsmeyer	....	tracker/matchmover: Zoic Studios
Matthias Lowry	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Krista Maryanski	....	visual effects coordinator
Jack Noriaki Matsumoto	....	digital effects artist: Entity FX
Steve J. McLeod	....	digital compositor
Vinay Mehta	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Erin L. Nelson	....	digital restoration
Viet Nguyen	....	systems engineer: EntityFX
Brandy Nightingale	....	visual effects coordinator
Martin November	....	visual effects editor
Alison O'Brien	....	visual effects producer
Midori Otsubo	....	digital artist (as Midori Witsken)
Bethany Pederson	....	rotoscope artist
Brian Petras	....	compositor
Ricardo Quintero	....	digital compositor
Rob Reinhart	....	digital effects artist: Entity FX
Jeremy Renteria	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Dan Rucinski	....	visual effects producer: Entity FX
Harrison Rutherford	....	digital compositor
Gregory S. Scribner	....	lead digital compositor: Entity FX
Andrea Shear	....	digital effects artist: Entity FX
Jesse Siglow	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Nate Smalley	....	I/O manager: Entity FX
Trent Smith	....	visual effects senior producer: Entity FX
Christina Spring	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Mike Spring	....	digital compositor: Entity FX
Takashi Takeoka	....	digital compositor
Wilson Tang	....	digital restoration
Mike Tosti	....	head of production technology
Jerry Tung	....	visual effects
Caleb Wagner	....	visual effects
Bob White	....	visual effects
Ian Wilson	....	visual effects
Johnny Wilson	....	visual effects compositor: Neo Digital
Doug Witsken	....	digital compositor
Jessica Woods	....	digital compositor
Terron Pratt	....	digital effects producer: Entity FX (uncredited)
Emily Sage	....	assistant visual effects coordinator (uncredited)

Stunts
Elle Alexander	....	stunt performer
Elle Alexander	....	stunts
Joey Anaya	....	stunt performer
Christopher 'Critter' Antonucci	....	stunts
Jane Austin	....	stunt performer
Joni Avery	....	stunt performer
Rick Avery	....	stunt coordinator
Rick Avery	....	stunt performer
Gregory J. Barnett	....	stunt performer
Michael H. Barnett	....	stunt performer
Kelly Bellini	....	stunt double
Nick Benseman	....	stunts (as Nicholas Benseman)
Monica Braunger	....	stunt double: Sara Paxton
Monica Braunger	....	stunt performer
Arnold Chon	....	stunts
Kevin Collins	....	stunts
Brycen Counts	....	stunt performer
Callie Croughwell	....	stunts
Charles Croughwell	....	stunt coordinator
Joshua Croughwell	....	stunt double
Arturo Dickey	....	utility stunts
Richie Gaona	....	stunts
Katie Gill	....	stunt double
Al Goto	....	stunts
Michael Hilow	....	utility stunts
Bevin Kaye	....	stunt performer
Hubie Kerns Jr.	....	stunts
Horace Knight	....	stunt double
Mark Kubr	....	stunts
Malosi Leonard	....	stunts
Sam Looc	....	stunts
Anthony Molinari	....	stunt performer
Damien Moreno	....	utility stunts
Anna Mercedes Morris	....	stunts
Billy Morts	....	stunts
Tristan Morts	....	stunts
Kai Nuuhiwa	....	stunts
Daniel T. O'Brien	....	utility stunts
Carrick O'Quinn	....	stunts
Joe Ordaz	....	stunts
Heidi Pascoe	....	stunt double: Nicole Sullivan
Simon Rhee	....	stunts
Jimmy N. Roberts	....	utility stunts
Neal 'Xingu' Rodil	....	stunts
Thomas Rosales Jr.	....	stunts
Laurence Todd Rosenthal	....	stunt performer
David Rowden	....	stunts
Steve Schriver	....	stunt performer
Myke Schwartz	....	utility stunts
David St. Pierre	....	stunt performer
Philip Tan	....	stunts
Gary Toy	....	stunts
Chrissy Weathersby	....	stunts
Webster P. Whinery Jr.	....	stunts
Thom Williams	....	stunts
Ezra Womark	....	stunts
Gabriel Womark	....	stunts
Boni Yanagisawa	....	utility stunts
Bruce Paul Barbour	....	stunt double: Leslie Nielsen (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Steve Adcock	....	camera operator: second unit
Justin Babin	....	rigging grip
Robert J. Babin	....	rigging key grip
Dwayne Barr	....	dolly grip: second unit
Josh Bleibtreu	....	director of photography: second unit
Mark 'Boylee' Boyle	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Ryan Bradley	....	grip
John Bratlien	....	best boy electric: second unit
Robin Bursey	....	film loader
Alan Colbert	....	chief lighting technician
Chris Cotterman	....	grip
Brian Davis	....	second assistant camera: re-shoots
Willie E. Dawkins	....	gaffer: additional photography (2007-2008)
Porfirio Dominguez	....	rigging grip
Sam Emerson	....	still photographer
Shawn Ensign	....	best boy grip
David Eubank	....	first assistant camera: re-shoots
Christopher Franey	....	lighting technician
Franc Gabusi	....	company grip
Christopher Glasgow	....	a dolly grip
Andrew B. Horton	....	assistant chief lighting technician
King Lanaux	....	grip
Richard Masino	....	first assistant camera: "a" camera, second unit
Lloyd Moriarity	....	key grip
Charles Papert	....	Steadicam operator
David L. Parrish	....	camera operator: DP additional Photography
Jay Pope	....	rigging grip
Chris Rauch	....	grip
David Schmalz	....	video assist operator
Brian Scotti	....	electrician
Jason Selsor	....	best boy rigging grip
Fulton Singleton	....	rigging grip
Brian Tilden	....	gaffer: second unit
Nicole Turegano	....	additional camera loader
Chris Updegrave	....	company grip
Jason Young	....	additional lighting console programmer
Jordan C. Kadovitz	....	video assist: second unit (uncredited)

Casting Department
J.C. Cantu	....	casting associate
Lindsay Graham	....	casting associate
Brandon Hemmerling	....	casting associate
Michelle Wade	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Laura Baker	....	specialty costumer
Ellen Falguiere	....	assistant costume designer
Jamelle Flowers	....	set costumer
Christine Jordan	....	costume assistant
Joyce Kogut	....	costume supervisor
Michelle Margolis	....	set costumer
Amanda Riley	....	costumer
Kanani Wolf	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Kenny Becker	....	color timer
Jill Bogdanowicz	....	digital film colorist
Danielle Giannantonio	....	post-production assistant
Karen Jewell	....	post-production assistant
Melissa McCaffery	....	second assistant editor
Joel T. Pashby	....	first assistant editor: avid
Joe Patnaud	....	post-production assistant
Mark Sahagun	....	digital intermediate editor
Zared Shai	....	editorial assistant
J.D. Woods	....	post-production assistant

Music Department
Sally Boldt	....	music editor
Vincent Cirilli	....	music score mixer
Kerry Cobuccio	....	assistant to composer
Danail Getz	....	composer: additional music
Angela Leus	....	music coordinator
Ryan McClure	....	music mix assistant
Michael Patti	....	composer: additional music
Erich Stratmann	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Rich Bennetti	....	transportation
Bruce Callahan	....	transportation
Jim Chesney	....	transportation coordinator
Christine Dye	....	transportation dispatcher
Miguel Lozano	....	driver: honeywagon
G. Wesley Ponsford	....	driver
Derek Raser	....	transportation
Carlos Williams	....	driver
Robert A. Wood	....	driver: production van

Other crew
Mike Ades	....	assistant: producer
Shiloh Benton	....	production assistant
Jeff Chlebus	....	production assistant
Jennifer Corey	....	production coordinator
Dana Curt	....	on set medic
Brad Davis	....	production accountant
Bryan Davis	....	assistant production coordinator
Adam Feingold	....	additional office production assistant
Jay Floyd	....	clearance administrator
Alex Franklin	....	development executive
Ali Griffith	....	production secretary
Julie Hannum	....	location scout
Kenny Hanson	....	production assistant
Tom Holzhauer	....	production assistant
Jeff Hubbard	....	set production assistant
Simeon Jones	....	production assistant
Grant Kirkpatrick	....	production assistant
Adam Kleiman	....	assistant: director
Adam Kleiman	....	assistant: writer
Jacqueline Lesko	....	executive assistant: Mr. Mazin
Darrin Lipscomb	....	location manager
Ian Maio	....	production assistant
Kristi McConnell	....	construction accountant
Matthew Richmond	....	production assistant
A.J. Rinella	....	set production assistant
Caren Rose-Mellman	....	production accountant (as Caren Mellman)
Fran Smith	....	assistant to producer
Kori Sparks	....	production assistant: additional photography
Justin Stirling	....	accounting clerk
Venus Ventura	....	assistant accountant
Danny Wilson	....	assistant location manager: reshoots
Chad Boldini	....	production assistant: title sequence (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Dimension Films

Distributors

• Alliance Films (2008) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Benelux Film Distribution (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cinestar (2008) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Dimension Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Euforia Film (2008) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Momentum Pictures (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2008) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Pachamama Cine (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Senator Film (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• AZ Gems (2008) (India) (all media)
• Argentina Video Home (2009) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Canal Film (2009) (Norway) (TV)
• Culture Publishers (CP) (2010) (Japan) (DVD) (rental)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Midget Entertainment (2008) (Denmark) (all media)
• Senator Home Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Sundream Motion Pictures (2008) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Weinstein Company, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• West Video (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Wide Pictures (2008) (Spain) (all media)

Special Effects

• Animal Makers (animatronic animals)
• Patrick Tatopoulos Design (concept design: Dragonfly)

Other Companies

• Act One Script Clearance  script research
• Chef Robért Catering  catering
• Entity FX  visual effects
• Hollywood-DI  film projection
• LCW Props  set equipment
• Movie Movers  star trailers
• Soundtrack  ADR Facility
• Star Waggons  cast trailers
• Star Waggons  make-up trailer

Also Known As:

Superhero! (USA) (working title)
Супергеройское кино (Russia) [ru]
En süper kahraman (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Film de super-héros (Canada: French title) [fr]
Super Héros Movie (France) [fr]
Super-Herói: O Filme (Portugal) [pt]
Superhéroes, la película (Argentina) [es]
Superhero - Il più dotato fra i supereroi (Italy) [it]
Superhero Movie (Poland) [pl]
Superhero Movie (Norway) [no]
Superhero Movie (Greece) [el]
Suprhrdina (Czech Republic) [cs]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references and language.

Runtime:

75 min | 82 min (extended edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Finland:K-13 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44303) | Ireland:15A | Singapore:PG (cut) | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Hong Kong:IIB | UK:12A | Malaysia:U | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:6 | Germany:12 | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | New Zealand:M | UK:15 (Re-edited Version) | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating) | Norway:10 (TV rating) | Norway:11 | Iceland:7 | Brazil:12

Filming Locations:

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Company:

Dimension Films

Trivia:

Was originally called "Superhero!", because of the other David Zucker movies "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun." It was changed to "Superhero Movie" because of the success in the box office of "Date Movie" and "Epic Movie".

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Hourglass loads software to destroy the world, he puts a Windows CD into his Apple computer. He may have been running a Windows emulator, which allows Macs to run Windows software. Recent versions of Mac OS include a Windows emulator.

Quotes:

Uncle Albert: God, Lucille! How could you take her away from me! I can't live without her! Lucille! Snookie lumps!
Undertaker: I'm sorry, there's been a terrible mistake. This is your wife.
Uncle Albert: [sees Lucille in other casket] Ah!
Undertaker: She is this man's wife.
Uncle Albert: Give me five minutes.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Forrest Gump (1994)

Soundtrack:

All By Myself

With great parody comes great responsibility

If "Superhero Movie" gives you the same giddy, guilty-pleasure feeling as "Airplane!" and the "Naked Gun" movies, it's no accident. Some of those movies' personnel – who were also involved in two lesser "Scary Movie" sequels – show up here. (Those include writer-director Craig Mazin, who happily has come a long way from 1997's abysmal "Rocketman.")

The movie's title says it all. It's a comedy that takes a well-known hit (in this case, "Spider-Man"), turns it inside out, and uses it as a clothesline for gags. In this parody version, nerdy Rick Riker (amiable Drake Bell of cable-TV's "Drake and Josh") gets bitten by a mutant dragonfly, turning him into...well, take a guess. Meanwhile, a well-meaning scientist (Chris McDonald) turns nasty when his experiment backfires and he finds he must sap others' life-blood in order to keep himself alive.

As is typical of such parodies, the movie's approach is as subtle as a spitball gun. Some of the gags are terrific, and some are groaners. But they're all fired at such a rapid pace that after a while, you have no choice but to give in to the silliness. The characters are like shooting-gallery ducks waiting to have parody lobbied at them. Best of the bunch are Rick's well-meaning but dotty uncle and aunt (delightfully played by Leslie Nielsen and "Happy Days'" Marion Ross). The most pitiable is a take-off on disabled genius Stephen Hawking, who seems to push Mazin's bad-taste button over and over ad nauseum.

This leads me to the movie's most required caveat. While the flick is mostly silly fun, it pushes its "PG-13" rating right up to the edge of the "R" cliff. The movie is larded with sexual gags and profanity abound, and what might possibly be cinema's longest-ever flatulence gag.

But if you can bear up under the cringe factor, "Superhero Movie" is mostly high-powered fun. Nifty comedy here runs neck-and-neck with bad taste. It's a close race, but the comedy wins.

"Superhero Movie" is rated PG-13 for countless sex and drug references, crude humor, and adult language.