Mystery Men

Just who are these guys, and why are the dressed so funny?

	Mystery Men
	Rated PG-13
	Starring Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Geoffrey Rush, Ben Stiller, Wes Studi
	Written by Neil Cuthbert and Brent Forrester
	Directed by Kinka Usher

Review by Melissa J. Perenson

veryone dreams of being a superhero. But for three men in Champion City, dreaming just isn't enough. Instead, Roy (Stiller), Jeffrey (Azaria), and Eddie (Macy) convene night after night, bumbling their way through their attempts to keep Champion City free of crime--something that the flashy, endorsement-hungry Captain Amazing (Kinnear) already does quite well. By day, each toils at his ordinary blue-collar job. By night, they assume the personas of Mr. Furious, The Blue Raja, and The Shoveler, roaming the city for any errant villains while refining their respective skills (Raja specializes in foiling villains with forks and spoons, while The Shoveler wields the fastest digging implement in the city).

Looking for a new challenge to spice up his image, the somewhat daft Captain Amazing arranges for the diabolic Casanova Frankenstein (Rush) to be released from the asylum for the criminally insane, where the villain has been held since the decade that disco was still in vogue. Once freed, Frankenstein turns on Captain Amazing and proceeds with his plot to destroy Champion City.

In an ironic twist, the fate of Captain Amazing and Champion City is in the hands of Roy, Jeffrey, and Eddie. But before they can take on Frankenstein and his league of aging cronies, Mr. Furious, The Blue Raja, and The Shoveler must first recruit reinforcements. Joining their oddball team are: The Spleen (Reubens), whose specialty is releasing noxious fumes at will; Invisible Boy (Mitchell), whose years spent in obscurity have given him the power to turn invisible when no one else is looking; The Bowler (Garofalo), a young woman with a flair for tossing a bowling ball; and The Sphinx (Studi), the mysterious mentor who spouts out wisdom in the form of cliches. But can this motley band of aspiring superheroes rise to the challenge?

Revenge of the misfits

Adapted from the popular Dark Horse Comics title Flaming Carrot, Mystery Men is an offbeat comedy with several hits--and just as many misses. Some scenes breeze by airily, while others seem to trudge along. Some are well-written--witness Macy's inspirational speech to the group--while others devolve into the latest variant on the bathroom humor that's been all the rage this summer. The movie would have been better had it been 15 minutes shorter.

At nearly all times, though, Mystery Men is self-aware, and the fact that the actors aren't taking things too seriously makes the comic book-esque story more palatable. Likewise, the crafty production design--which consists of just the right blend of cartoonish influence and real life--helps to maintain the tone of the movie.

Director Kinka Usher employs a unique visual style and doesn't hesitate to use unusual camera angles--a methodology that keeps both viewers and the actors on their toes. Unfortunately, not all of the scenes flow smoothly from one to the other. Mystery Men is more easily remembered for its discrete parts rather than its sum total. One of the trickiest things in the movie is to get the comedic timing right, and that's something that Usher did manage with aplomb.

The movie is packed with a star-studded ensemble cast, and viewers can't help but want something more from the film. The standout is Garofalo, who has some of the best lines in the film. Coming in a close second is Macy, who shows he can handle comedy just as well as the more serious dramas he's known best for. In fact, Macy's The Shoveler ends up stealing the show--not to mention the leadership of the group. Stiller's character comes across as annoying, but he redeems himself by the end of the film. Azaria falls a bit flat, while Reubens shows he still has comic life left in him--even though it's hard to understand everything his character is saying.

The story of the Mystery Men is something we can all relate to: wanting to break out of the doldrums and save the world. While the bungling would-be heroes can become tedious simply because they are predictable, the movie is worthwhile if only for its occasionally snappy dialogue. -- Melissa

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The Iron Giant

Something really big is happening in the small town of Rockwell

	The Iron Giant
	Rated PG
	Voiced by Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., Christopher McDonald, Eli Marienthal
	Screenplay by Tim McCanlies
	Directed by Brad Bird
	84 Minutes

Review by Jeff Berkwits

t's 1957, and the Soviet Union has just launched Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. Nearly everyone in the United States is fearfully looking skyward, but in picturesque Rockwell, Maine, day-to-day life remains pretty much unchanged. Even when a local fisherman reports seeing a huge robot hurtling down from the heavens into the ocean, folks ignore him, thinking that the story is nothing more than a figment of the old man's imagination.

In fact, the only person who believes the tale is nine-year-old Hogarth Hughes (Marienthal), who, in the diner where his mother Annie (Aniston) works as a waitress, overhears rumors about a gigantic metal monster. So later that evening, when the TV program Hogarth is watching suddenly turns to static and he discovers that the rooftop antenna has apparently been eaten, the boy sets out to find the gargantuan spaceman.

He quickly discovers the invader, and though initially scared, he ends up befriending the 50-foot-tall robot. But the enormous entity's appetite for metallic munchies also attracts the attention of the federal government. Washington dispatches special agent Kent Mansley (McDonald) to figure out what's happening, and before long he realizes that Hogarth is hiding a truly "big" secret.

With Mansley hot on his trail, the youngster turns to Dean McCoppin (Connick) for help. McCoppin, the beatnik owner of a local junkyard, reluctantly agrees to conceal the colossal creature amidst the scrap littering his property. For a short time everything seems fine, until Mansley uncovers the ruse and calls in the army. However, things don't go quite as intended, and before long Hogarth and the townspeople realize that the Iron Giant is far more complex--both mechanically and emotionally--than anyone could have imagined.

An iron man with a heart of gold

Long-time SF fans have probably heard the saying, "The Golden Age of science fiction is 14." That adage is perfectly suited to The Iron Giant, a film that gleefully emphasizes the childlike sense of wonder necessary (at any age) to enjoy speculative storytelling.

Although the narrative ostensibly takes place four decades ago, in many respects this motion picture is timeless. Like any young boy, Hogarth possesses a marvelously overactive imagination, and that leads to some warm and funny moments. He injects his Twinkies with whipped cream, uses comic books to teach his robot buddy the concept of good vs. evil and--like many preadolescent science fiction buffs--is both frightened and fascinated by low-budget, late-night TV movies.

His gigantic playmate is also engaging. While the Iron Giant rarely speaks (his few words are voiced by actor Vin Diesel), through his oftentimes humorous interactions with Hogarth he becomes, like the Tin Man from another famous tale, both a human and a humane character. Rendered via computer, the massive mechanical creature also looks slightly otherworldly (though not out of place) compared to his traditionally animated surroundings. This technique lends an appropriately alien air to the extraterrestrial robot.

Folks familiar with The Iron Man, the well-known children's book upon which this feature is based, should be forewarned that the film tells a significantly different story. Yet director Brad Bird and his production team have clearly labored to craft a picture that retains the innocence and charm of the source material. The Iron Giant also successfully captures the look and feel of vintage animation and 1950s science fiction filmmaking. The result is a movie that's both memorable and meaningful, and a must see for any SF fan.

When I was growing up, Tobor the Great was my favorite robot flick. I still have fond memories of watching that admittedly cheesy adventure on television, but I sure wish I'd had a film like The Iron Giant instead. -- Jeff

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Mystery Science Theater 3000 Finale

So long, and thanks for the giant spaghetti ball

	Mystery Science Theater 3000 Finale
	"Danger Diabolik"
	The SCI FI Channel
	Sunday, Aug. 8
	9 p.m. & 11 p.m. ET

Review by Tamara I. Hladik

steely-eyed Italian techno-thief, high-risk capers and fast-paced dubbing. That's what Mike and the bots are served by Pearl Forrester in the very last Mystery Science Theater 3000 experiment, Danger Diabolik. As a devilishly handsome, devil-may-care antihero, Diabolik proves that no prize, no matter how strongly guarded, can withstand a lantern jaw and the religious use of a bronzer. And apparently bondage wear can be daywear, if accessorized properly. Multo sporto.

Because Danger Diabolik was produced by Dino De Laurentiis, the MST3K crew has an easy time of it as they ape the James Bond tradition and fire off a cornucopia of I-Spy cliches. For added (though small) drama, Mike and the bots must do their quipping while the Satellite of Love is headed towards re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

This final episode is very much like an average one: Pearl snarls and titters evilly, and Mike and the bots amiably riff the film and trade adolescent prattle during breaks. As befits the last MST3K episode, there's a story line to pull all 10 seasons of the show together (the SOL crew is coming home), and there are references to what everyone's going to do afterward. Along the way, Pearl breaks up her world domination think-tank and dismantles the lab.

But this is no hyperly self-aware, maudlin or even dramatic last episode. While they watch the experiment, Mike and friends only quip. They don't trade any comments--clever, true or otherwise--about it being their last show. No parting shots, even. Perhaps after 10 seasons there's no way to make it anything but the usual scrapple without turning it mawkish. Viewers could almost expect the SOL crew to be doing the same thing next week. And indeed, the writers have left room for fans to think so.

A fitting end or a riff-off?

It's got to be a great challenge to bring something to an end that no one really wants to see go. To their credit, the MST3K folks take no shots at the SCI FI Channel's decision to cancel the series, not even good-natured ones. And it's clear that making this episode sentimental would have made it a parody of itself. Unfortunately, not trying to make it special in some way made it a little flat. The quip-scripting is a bit one-dimensional as well.

There are a few special, nicely clever references and moments that are in keeping with the grand comic buffoonery MST3K is known for. Pearl and her minions depart their set a la Mary Tyler Moore and the WJM crew in that show's last episode. Mike and the bots score a new gig that is fitting and satisfying. And Gypsy lands a really sweet deal.

But overall, the simplicity and the it's-nothing-special tone of this finale are unsatisfying. Apart from its last-episode status, this MST3K installment is not an effort worthy of the scrapbook. Perhaps they could have included references to several famous last episodes, not just one. Perhaps they could have mentioned the auctioning off of MST3K props. At the very least they could have chosen a better, more nostalgic film as their final experiment, like a good old '50s science fiction or monster flick. Even Squirm, which received the MST-ie treatment earlier in the season, would have been a better choice for the wrap-up episode.

Nonetheless, it is goodbye, though only of a sort. This show will survive as it did before, in an endless chain of bootleg tapes. The auctioning off of the props certainly had a heavy, final feel to it, but there's no way to kill this series. It's survived Comedy Central and last-chance renewal deals and graveyard time slots. It's already as timeless as Monty Python. As long as there are avaricious producers willing to slash production budgets, as long as there are directors with a keen eye for mediocrity, as long as there are actors with Keanu-vian delivery--the clever underbelly of America will keep the riffing rolling.