Mutant Reviewers from Hell do
"We're there for the oddball, the rebel, the outcast, the geek!"

2000 R / Superhero Comedy Directed by: Craig Mazin Starring: Rob Lowe, Jordan Ladd, Thomas Haden Church

Tagline

Not as good as regular superheroes, but slightly better than you.

Summary Capsule

We peek behind the scenes at a very dysfunctional superhero team

Mutant Meter

Movie Store [proceeds go toward monthly MRFH upkeep]

Amazon.com: DVD

Justin's Rating: My power — and it is completely awesome — is being able to sing so loudly and off key that any mammal with ears will flee my presence
Justin's Review: When I first heard about The Specials, it was in an Entertainment Weekly movie preview edition.  If you're familiar with the magazine, you know the ones.  They come out quarterly, try to cover about 143 up-and-coming movies in 12 pages, but in doing so tend to only highlight the biggest and brightest while pushing the smaller ones, the geekier ones, and the indies to brief fragmented blurbs.  Supposedly coming out around the same time as Mystery Men, The Specials was treated as a far-distant cousin of the superhero-satire genre, and was all but erased from existence.  It didn't help that the movie wasn't — to my knowledge — released in theaters, and spent years wallowing in purgatory before being shunted to video.

"One thing I learned: you don't want to get stretching powers.  Most of those heroes die from cancer within a year."

What tugged at my leathery heart-strings was the self-description that The Specials supergroup gives themselves in the movie: this 6th or 7th greatest bunch of superheroes in the city deem themselves as being there for "the oddball, the rebel, the outcast, the geek."  In real life, the movie is the same; this film is a weird outcast not meant for most viewers who are looking for a big budget and flashy effects.  It's mostly for those who want something slightly unusual and flavored with Tang.  So welcome to cultville, Specials!

Unlike Mystery Men or The Incredibles, The Specials don't create comedy by parodying the action and dangerous situations most comic book heroes find themselves in.  The Specials does away with most on-screen examples of superheroism, focusing instead on the quirky daily life of a bunch of cranky, goofy people who just happen to have slightly better-than-average abilities.  It's almost not a film, but a longer pilot episode of what would've been a funny TV series about the office antics of quibbling supers.

On the day that Nightbird (the incredibly cute Jordan Ladd) is accepted into The Specials, the group is on the verge of both getting their first action figures and completely falling apart.  Their group leader, the wooden and egotistical Strobe (Thomas Haden Church) is unknowingly driving his wife, Ms. Indestructible (Paget Brewster), into the bed of sarcastic Weevil (Rob Lowe).  The other group members aren't much better off.  Mr. Smart (Jim Zulevic) is a pudgy genius who keeps putting weird contraptions on his head; Power Chick (Kelly Coffield) is a highly annoying cesspit of energy; Deadly Girl (Newsradio's Judy Greer) is bitter about pretty much everything; Minute Man (James Gunn) has a name that's mispronounced and a costume that most people assume is gay; Amok (Jamie Kennedy) is a Nightcrawler-blue jerk; U.S. Bill (Mike Schwartz) is super-strong but an imbecile; and Alien Orphan (Sean Gunn) is just... out of place.  Oh, and I can't be remiss in mentioning the most unique superhero I've ever seen, Eight — an entity with one mind who shares eight separate bodies.  It's a charming group of Marvel/DC rejects.  I love 'em.

While crude at times (Amok contemplates going back to supervillainy by having sex with pets everywhere), The Specials revels in its own brand of deadpan humor revolving around what most people would really be like if they were granted superpowers.  One thing I learned: you don't want to get stretching powers.  Most of those heroes die from cancer within a year.

Nothing much, other than Nightbird's tour around the H.Q., the action figure party, and the eventual dissolution and reconciliation of the group, happens here.  Again, it's best to just get into the mindset of enjoying a well-done sitcom pilot that could've made The Tick proud.  I personally had a blast, quick as it was, watching The Specials.  If nothing else, rent it just to see the ridiculous action figure concepts that the toy company comes up with to market this gang.

"It's decided, then. Pop Rocks for everyone!" Dude... why are you so blue? You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of paperwork that superheroism entails

Is It Worth Staying Through End Credits?

During the end credits we see an "In Memory: 1970-1993" reference and picture of Mr. Stretch, an original member of the Specials that we are told died of mouth cancer in one of interview segments.

Intermission! [some sources: IMDb]

Both Judy Greer and Jamie Kennedy filmed this movie around their Three Kings schedule.

Filmed in 18 days.

Groovy Quotes

Minute Man: The great thing about not getting the person that you love is that you can still think about that person and masturbate, which is essentially the same thing.

Deadly Girl: Ted might have been right about some things. Like drinking; last week I got drunk at a bar mitzvah, unthinkingly summoned forth demons and... they ate a kid.

Deadly Girl: I used to think I didn't need a family. I mean, I had the demons and the walking skeletons. But the difference between a walking skeleton and a kid is, a kid won't eat the soft parts of your face while you're sleeping.

The Weevil: I've had superpowers longer than anyone in the Specials, I think - which explains why I'm the only one with a Pez dispenser with a little me on it.

Minute Man: The one thing that happened that sucked was that I lost my shrinking ability for two weeks, like a flu bug, or... I mean, I didn't lose them entirely. I was able to shrink down to about four-foot-five. But just being short isn't really a superpower.

U.S. Bill: This is the basement. Want to see the furnace?
Nightbird: That's okay.
U.S. Bill: It's hot. Don't press your face against it for too long or you get red streaks on you for, like, a month.

Ms. Indestructible: Every morning I look down and I'm wearing boots with lightning bolts on them and I think...where did I make the wrong turn?

The Weevil: The government gives the Crusaders all the best gigs. The Specials, it's like being last sailor in line behind the whore.

College Girl: Hey, are you Minuteman? Can we have your autography?
Minute Man: My-noot man! Do I look like a soldier from the revolutionary war? I don't think so! Am I wearing a three-cornered hat?! No! I turn small! Think!

Verdict: "Weevil" is a brand name in which we'd like to share. And you have the superpower we most admire -- you know how to make people like you.
The Weevil: Yeah, well -
Verdict: And, also, we have a line of Crusader Beanie Babies coming out in August, and none of our members wear blue.

Amok: We may not be the prettiest, or the smartest, or the most powerful. But we don't exist for the beautiful people of the world, Ted! We're there for the oddball, the rebel, the outcast, the geek!

If you liked this movie, try these:

• Mystery Men
• The Incredibles
• The Tick (both TV shows)