Mystery Men
Short description
In Champion City, a flashy superhero named Captain Amazing keeps the peace and hogs the publicity, while three amateur crime fighters watch from the sidelines. Roy, who works in a scrapyard, Jeffrey, who still lives with his mother, and Eddie, whose family mocks his ambitions, spend their nights as Mr. Furious, the Blue Raja and the Shoveler, patrolling streets in homemade costumes and hoping for a villain worth their time. Their chance comes when the recently paroled Casanova Frankenstein captures Captain Amazing, leaving the city without its official protector. The three recruits join a larger circle of misfit heroes, including the Invisible Boy, the flatulent Spleen, the skull-wielding Bowler and the lecturing Sphinx, to take on the criminal's organization.
Directed by Kinka Usher, a commercials director making his feature debut, the film was written by Neil Cuthbert and produced by Lawrence Gordon, Lloyd Levin and Mike Richardson, with Dark Horse Entertainment among the production companies. Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria and William H. Macy lead a credited cast of 117, with Greg Kinnear as Captain Amazing, Kel Mitchell as the Invisible Boy and Paul Reubens as Spleen. The 68 million dollar production returned about 30 million worldwide, a shortfall that outweighed its theatrical run. On IMDb it holds 6.1/10 from 74,000 votes and on TMDB 5.9/10 from 951 votes, while a critics' rating of 6.2/10 from 103 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Lena Olin’s character is an allusion to Harley Quinn, who also fell in love with her patient and subsequently became his accomplice.
- Tom Waits’ strange gestures during the explanation were the result of him having lines written on his fingertips, which he was reading.
- Janine Garofalo initially refused to act in this film, but changed her mind when she learned that William H. Macy and Geoffrey Rush would be playing other roles.
- The only character not featured in the comics was the one played by Kel Mitchell. He was conceived somewhat drunkenly by screenwriter Bob Burden, and the idea for this character appealed to the filmmakers.
- The speech of the character played by William H. Macy borrows heavily from the speech before the Battle of Agincourt (1415) in William Shakespeare's play 'Henry V' (1599).
- Janine Garofalo's improvised monologue about independent cinema at the end was included in the film at the last moment. Director Kinka Usher asked the actress to say the first thing that came to mind (he simply had unused film stock), and her speech impressed him so much that he inserted it into the film.
- The outlines of Casanova Frankenstein's castle clearly show the influence of Spanish architect Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
