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Hellboy looks at MYSTERY MEN!
Ya know... Sometimes I'm just amazed. How does a gigantic red demon wearing nothing more than an overcoat get into a test screening? I mean.... aren't they better than that? Well Hellboy here took a long look at MYSTERY MEN and has some nitpicks here and there but seemed to really enjoy it. SOunds like a really fun movie, but personally I'm looking forward to the same producers turning their super-producing powers towards... HELLBOY, the movie, not the spy. Here's the big red one to let us in on it all.... (Warning Spoilers about cameos follow)
Saw a preview of Mystery Men yesterday at Universal
City. The folks in charge of the viewing seemed very
interested in the demographic seeing the movie, but
for some reason the question and answer period that
usually follow such viewings was non-existent. I wish
that wasn't the case.
For the most part, Mystery Men was pretty damn funny.
It was a work print so the editing left much to be
desired and some of the effects were low-resolution
and the soundtrack was temp.
Greg Kinnear shines as Captain Amazing and Ben Stiller
is, as usual, hyperactively himself and loving it as
Mr. Furious. Actually, the entire cast was pretty
good. The kid who played The Invisible Boy didn't
seem comfortable with his role 'til the end. And
Janeane Garofalo was just hilarious as The Bowler.
Geoffrey Rush was good and creepy as Cassanova
Frankenstein and his Disco Boys henchmen were crowd
pleasers. And Paul Reubens is very funny as the
Spleen, although fart humor is delicate humor.
The superhero cliche jokes fly fast and furious and
done well to initiate non-comic book fans into this
world. Particularly funny was the Clark Kent/Superman
parallels applied to Captain Amazing.
And it was a nice surprise to see Tom Waits as a
genius non-lethal weapons designer, creator of such
weapons as Canned Tornado and the Blame Thrower.
And just in case the suits are reading this....TIGHTEN
UP THAT EDITING. I know they know it needs work. The
Canned Tornado was cool, but they test it, order a
dozen, and then never use it again. Weird.
Some cameos to look out for: Michael Bay as one of the
super-villains The Frat Boys. And rap group Goodie
Mob as the Not-So-Goodie Mob. Dana Gould makes about
a 6 frame cameo, completely wasted. He should have
been in the cast.
Not TOO many spoilers....there are still a ton of
surprises. I think once they tighten up the sucker,
it could be great.
HELLBOY
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Can't wait tp see Paul in another film. Long live Reubens!!!
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I've stopped reading everything there is out there about MYSTERY MEN, because it sounds SO good that, as a film, it's starting to head down the same hyped-up road as THE PHANTOM MENACE. Don't get me wrong, just like everybody else I can't wait to see this thing. I don't want to know anything more about it than I already do before I go see it.
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I went to Universal last night too, and really dug the movie. But I didn't notice Dana Gould -- unusual, 'cause I love that guy! Where was his not-even-a-cameo? For the record, I should also add that this is the umpteenth movie Eddie Izzard was essentially wasted in. AVENGERS, VELVET GOLDMINE... why don't they ever give him any decent dialogue?
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He was shown for a split second during the superhero barbecue when all those crappy heroes were introducing themselves. It was quick and in a really crappy edit.
Do you agree with my review, though?
From Hell -
Great movie!
Dana Gould was there...for 1/10th of a second! What the heck was THAT? Michael Bay stood out like a sore thumb in his "cameo" because how many 40-year old fratboys are there? How many people think Eddie Izzard looked just like Bruce Timm when he first appears on the screen? Best moments: the Blue Raja's scene with his mother near the end...PERFECT. (Please don't cut this Universal!) Paul Reuben was GREAT as The Spleen - not just doing Pee Wee and makes fart humor entertaining and not just offensive; (i.e. - Howard Stern). Worst Moments: badly edited, totally-unexciting final fight scene with Geoffrey Rush and Ben Stiller. Surreally out-of-nowhere scene with a skunk humping one of the characters; (don't ask). Clean up that final mess and trim ten minutes and it is Austin Powers-quality and surprisingly great. Best of all is Greg Kinnear who is FUCKING AWESOME in this movie. I'm not kidding, he is Best Supporting Actor-quality in this movie - (if the Academy appreciated comedy at all) - it's too bad he is wasted in the second half. Looking forward to Mystery Men 2! (and put the Flaming Carrot back in!) -
The more I hear about this movie, the more I sense it's nothing more than a great big rip-off of The Tick.
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Sorry, buddy, but Mystery Men Comics (Dark Horse) came out long before the Big Blue Guy. I was buying Flaming Carrots back in '89. So...who ripped off who?
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Mansin: It's hard to call this a "rip-off" of the Tick when the Tick was a rip-off of earlier superhero parodies like Megaton Man and Flaming Carrot. And MYSTERY MEN is adapted from the Flaming Carrot stories! So tick -- excuse me, TECH-nically speaking, Tick is a rip-off of MYSTERY MEN! As for Hellboy, yes, I did agree with your review -- and the fella above who pointed out how brilliant Greg Kinnear is. We've all seen Superman parodied to death; particularly the, "How can they not know he's Clark Kent" angle. Yet when Kinnear walked in with his horn-rims on, he was so hilarious the joke came to life. Also, I thought Stiller was as funny as I've ever seen him. Garafolo too, for that matter. And to weigh in on the discussion of who Eddie Izzard looks like -- I thought he was a ringer for TOMMY-era Oliver Reed!
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Aside from here, I'll I've seen for this so far is one singularly uninformative poster when I went to see TPM. Have I been under a rock, or do I just live too far out in the boonies? ;)
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I saw an earlier test screening of "Mystery Men". The audience seemed to be into it. However, I think most people were disappointed by the finale. After Janeane Garofalo delivers the best line in the film, the ending pretty much sucked. It sounds like they've tweaked it, removing the Canned Tornado bit. That bit seemed pretty crutial to the finale, but who knows? Those testing folks do know what in the hell they're doing. Right? Also who cares about Dana Gould. The last thing he did was the terribly unfunny "Super Adventure Team" puppet show on MTV. I say what this film needed was more Claire Forlani, totally wasted in a small Lois Lane-y role.
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I happen to like Dana Gould a lot. Super Adventure Team I think was misunderstood. I watched some episodes with Gould himself explaining things and it was much funnier than I previously thought.
Plus, I catch his stand-up act as much as possible here in L.A. which is really when he shines anyway.
As for the ending...well, I agree that all the good stuff happens in the first two reels, but it was satisfying to see Mr. Furious reach his potential. Claire Forlani was underused but unfortunately any young pretty girl could have played that role. She's been in all of about 3 movies so I don't know how talented she is and if she was 'wasted' in the role.
That's all. Gotta go smash some monsters now.
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What was the old ending with the Canned Tornado? (It was completely cut from the finale, so this is not a spoiler.) Did it have something to do with Janeane's bowling bowl which all of a sudden has different powers at the end? They really should re-shoot the final fight with Stiller & Rush, because it was the only thing that totally sucked in the movie and the finale is kinda' important. And, yes, The Tick came after the Flaming Carrot, etc., but this MOVIE came after The Tick, so to say it's impossible that the blue guy was an influence on the writing isn't really valid...this is NOT taken word-for-word from the Mystery Men comics. Ben Edlund (creator of The Tick) is BRILLIANT and his creation was never just a weak rip-off of ANYTHING. The Mystery Men movie definitely seemed influenced in parts by The Tick TV series to me, but it's kind of expected when they're both working in the "Superhero Parody" genre. I really enjoyed Mystery Men, but I would LOVE to see a live action version of The Tick! (Maybe we will if this movie kicks ass at the boxoffice.) Casanova Frankenstein is sure no Chairface Chippendale..."Spoon!"
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After POLICE ACADEMY 32: MISSION TO VIDEO and MALLRATS, I was surprised at how effective she can be with a good role like the one she had in Julian Schnable's wonderful "BASQUIAT." I was blown away when when I found out that she's British. Whoa, indeed!
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I have decided in the past couple of years that my ultimate goal in life is to be happy. I have also come to realize that the only way I can be truly happy is if Janeane Garofalo marries me.
Also, the trailer RULES. I haven't been this excited about a movie since I first heard about "Dogma."
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