The Specials

CatFang · The Specials

When I was in the shop last week we were talking about Kick Ass and the idea of "superheroes" with no powers and got on to talking about The Specials, a brilliant superhero comedy from the same people as Free Enterprise (and if you haven't seen that you should watch it as well).

The tag line is "They're Not Incredible, They're Just Special" which gives you an idea Very Happy

. The film is a kind of "mockumentary" following the exploits of a B-list superteam who all live unhappily together in a "team house", intercut with interviews about their lives, how they feel about each other etc.

It is killingly funny and strangely charming. Kind of like a less polished (but better) version of mystery men. I think it was straight to DVD, so don't be expecting load of effects, they mostly never get to fight the big monsters etc as the A list team of The Challengers is always called in first.

Thomas Hayden Church plays "The Great Strobe" who is the leader of the team and it is a brilliantly Shatnerian performance, speaking of himself only in the 3rd person. Jamie Kennedy also does a fantastic job as Amok, the ex-supervillain who has had a change of heart and joined the good guys (I'm told he is loosely a "Havoc" type, by those who know).

I don't want to make spoilers - in any case, the actual plot is not really the point, it is the excellent character performances that make this - so I thought I would put in some quotes to give a flavour of the dialogue:

"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. "

"Last week I got drunk at a bar mitzvah, unthinkingly summoned forth demons and...they ate a kid. "

"Sex? It's difficult. I get charged up, the anti-matter starts flying, next thing you know I'm humping a chick without an ass. I shoulda just stayed home."

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

And if you've ever lived in a shared house and been called to a "house meeting" just imagine if you lived with superheroes - like Civil War played out in the dining room.

We laughed til we cried. And you can probably get it for a fiver now.

The Rascal King

I saw it a few years ago, and thought it was hilarious. One of the better "Superhero" movies out there.

Another funny one to see is called "Comic Book Villains". It focus's on a bunch of guys from 2 comic shops chancing upon an old recluse's stash of comics, dating back to the 40's, all beautifully kept, and their attempts to wrest it from the mans mother. Hilarious stuff, got the geeky guy from Road Trip in it.

Reaper

Aaaah DJ, he's in The New Guy as well, which is great fun.

CatFang

Longshot

I've seen comic book villains, its a bit funny but mostly poo. Its got James Duval in it as well.

Reaper

Did you really think that Mystery Men was cack?

Longshot

It was F*N awefull, it just didnt have any redeeming features and my friend forced me to watch it, I think it was some sick thing to try and cause me pain.

Reaper

Seems i'm in them minority, thought it was fairly entertaining.

CatFang

To me the odd thing about Mystery Men is that no individual thing is actually "bad". In fact the script is quite slick, the performances are all pretty good, the direction is fine...

But still in some way it does not come together for me. I don't hate it. It was just a bit "meh" for some reason.

We have the dvd.

The Rascal King

Yeah, Mystery Men is awsome.

Xeall

Reaper

I am the Blue Rajar

CatFang

Watched Comic Book Villains last night.

Really enjoyed it. We thought it had quite a Coen Borthers feel going on. - or "comics of the Sierra Madre"

And here is a link to story of the discovery of the Mile High comics collection

kingmouse

Watched specials a few years ago and loved it, watched it again last month and was kinda underwhelmed. It's funny but lacks a focused story and it gets a bit huggy by the end.

That said, Amok deserves his own comic book. He's a great character.