In 1999, Ben Stiller, Geoffrey Rush and Janeane Garofalo starred in a satirical comic book adaptation that poked fun at the genre as a whole. Its production was plagued by drama, though, and – when it was finally released – it cratered at the box office. But in an age of James Gunn and ‘The Boys’, is it worth another look, asks Tom Fordy

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/15735604

Perhaps it’s fitting that a film about a ragtag rabble of not-so-superheroes failed to take off at the box office. But, 25 years since its release, the Ben Stiller-starring Mystery Men is worth rescuing from obscurity. That it hasn’t generated the cult following of so many other slightly under-the-radar movies of 1999 – think the cannibal horror movie Ravenous, or the Kirsten Dunst Watergate comedy Dick – feels criminal to the point of super-villainy.

The first and to date last feature film by the TV commercial director Kinka Usher, Mystery Men now seems curiously placed within the history of comic book movies. Released on 6 August 1999 in the US, it spoofed the superheroes that came before it, while anticipating – or preemptively satirising, even – the yet-to-happen superhero boom with ideas as sharp as anything seen in almost two decades of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

  • EchEnglish
    25·
    1 month ago

    I adore this movie. It’s unabashedly weird and fun, and a fantastic satire of superhero tropes at the time.

    My only significant hangup with it is the look of cultural appropriation through the Blue Rajah, but it stands just on the right side of acceptable imo thanks to a well fleshed out character and Hank Azaria’s great performance.

    If you haven’t seen it, check it out.

    • slickgoat@lemmy.worldEnglish
      20·
      1 month ago

      He plays an Englishman, and there is a long history of Victorian Brits becoming infatuated with Indian culture. The reference is obscure, but definitely there.

      • EchEnglish
        16·
        1 month ago

        Exactly. In fact (spoiler-ish warning), he plays a regular-ass American cosplaying an Englishman that’s in turn cosplaying being an Indian mystic. The extra layer does a lot of work to keep it in good taste.