Thursday
Feb032011
Movie Moan TV - 'Mystery Men' (1999)
Thu, February 3, 2011 You know those shows where a group of friends talk about a film everybody loves? Don't you just hate those?
Well Jamie, Ed & Kristina agree with you and make no bones about their passive dislike for Phil's moan of the week, the comic book movie bomb 'Mystery Men'.
I promise we'll be getting back to good films next week folks.
Reader Comments (1)
No... you're not alone, Phil (you will never walk alone!).
I think Jamie, Ed and Kristina are comparing it too much to what has come after it, rather than what was happening with the genre at that particular time. It was only two years after Batman & Robin had came out, so making a knowing comedy (albiet one with heart) seemed like the only place to go at that point. Yeah, Watchmen and Kick-Ass are arguably superior films with more of a point to make, but Mystery Men has a quirky indie vibe to it, that was often lacking in big budget films in those days. I don't know if the diner scenes were ad-libbed, but they feel like they are... in the best possible way... in other words... relaxed and conversational (not the "let's see how far we can push this!" mentality of recent comedies).
I do agree though, that it is difficult to watch Ben Stiller today. It's been especially difficult for me, ever since I read a quote of him slagging off this film! Why is it when a film bombs an actor will instantly call it a piece of shit, even though it probably meant something to them at the time? The film is an ensemble comedy and part of me thinks Stiller resented the fact that he wasn't center stage (seeing the guy in interviews, he doesn't really strike me as a bundle of laughs to be around).
I haven't watched it in a while, but I still own the DVD and even though it is scrapily made in some areas (why is the editing so slapdash in the big action scenes towards the end? It looked like they were cut together by film students!), I still found myself laughing at the clips in this review. I particularly love Macy's sincerity in that speech. There's not enough of that in today's comedies. Just a lot of shrieking and "ad-libing" (yes, I'm looking at you, Will Farrell!).