Drake Bell- Rick Riker/Dragonfly
Sara Paxton- Jill Johnson
Christopher McDonald- Lou Landers/Hourglass
Leslie Nielson- Uncle Albert
Marion Ross- Aunt Lucille
Tracy Morgan- Professor Xavier
Kevin Hart- Trey
Brent Spiner- Dr. Strom
Keith David- The Chief of Police
Robert Joy- Dr. Hawking
Robert Hays- Blaine Riker
Nicole Sullivan- Julia Riker
Regina Hall- Mrs. Xavier
Craig Berko- Wolverine
Dan Castellaneta- Carlson
Directed by Craig Mazin
Screenplay by Craig Mazin
Distributed by Dimension Films
Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references and language
Runtime- 85 minutes
Website: http://www.superhero-movie.net/
The recent spate of spoof/parody movies have been financially profitable for the studios and producers behind them, but, quality wise, they haven't exactly been, well, good. Or even all that funny. The days of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" and "Hot Shots!" are long gone. Instead, the movie world is given "Date Movie," "Epic Movie," "Meet the Spartans," among others. The "Scary Movie" franchise, helmed by the great Keenan Ivory Wayans twice, then by the equally great (not to mention legendary) David Zucker twice, has been the only one worth watching (sure, they're not classics, but they hit more than they miss). "Superhero Movie," produced by Zucker and written and directed by Craig Mazin, falls into the "Scary Movie" category in that it's not great, or all that good, but watchable.
Now, "Superhero Movie" has problems. The flick starts to lose steam after about forty-five minutes and some of the jokes don't land as well as they should. And then there's the question of why the outtakes that appear during the closing credits are outtakes at all (but that seems to be the case with all of the recent parody movies). You can tell very early on (and I think that this is where Zucker's influence is very apparent) that this parody flick is trying to tell a story that works the parodies in to help tell the story instead of just having the movie and pop culture references just for the sake of having them (like "Epic Movie" did). Yes, it doesn't always work, but it's a set up that helps set the movie apart from the rest. At least the people behind this movie are kind of trying to make an actual movie.
The story, which mostly works off the first "Spider-Man" movie, concerns one Rick Riker (Drake Bell) and his transformation from nerdy high school loser into the ace superhero crime fighter Dragonfly. After being bit by a genetically engineered super dragonfly while on a school field trip to the obviously evil corporation Amalgamated, Riker has to find a way to balance his new life and abilities all the while trying to live a normal life and pursuing the love of his life, one Jill Johnson (Sara Paxton). Meanwhile, Lou Landers (Christopher McDonald), the psychotic owner of Amalgamated, trying to find a cure for the disease that's killing him, has an accident that transforms him into a super villain who needs to suck the life force out of one person a day in order to live named "Hourglass." As in "Spider-Man" (and, well, in any superhero type movie), you know that Dragonfly and Hourglass are eventually going to clash.
And that's exactly what they do.
Besides "Spider-Man," the flick parodies "Batman Begins," the "Fantastic Four" movies, and the "X-Men" franchise, among others. There are bits that lampoon Google, that awful "2 girls 1 cup" thing, Barry Bonds, and Tom Cruise, but the flick pretty much sticks with making fun of the superhero movie world. Most of the jokes work, but they probably won't work as well for people who haven't seen any of the recent superhero flicks parodied. The best parody is probably the "X-Men" parody, featuring Tracy Morgan as Professor Xavier, the head of a superhero school who wants to help Riker figure out what to do with his super powers. Morgan is quite good doing a Patrick Stewart imitation. Regina Hall is fun as Mrs. Xavier (I thought the addition of the many bald kids in electric wheelchairs following Mrs. Xavier was a nice touch). The Pam Anderson as the Invisible Woman thing is funny, but we should have had more of it. There is a major problem with the "X-Men" parody, though. It's too short. It should have figured in more with the rest of the movie. Craig Berko's Wolverine parody barely registers (someone else plays Wolverine shaving his legs, which is a funny image). Why the heck didn't the story have them all show up at the end?
Leslie Nielson, playing Uncle Albert, Rick's Uncle (he's Uncle Ben), is quite good. Despite his advanced age, he's still quite adept at these kinds of movies. Marion Ross, as Aunt Lucille, has one of the most undignified moments in recent movie history while asleep on the couch. It's funny and crude, but I don't think anyone ever thought Mrs. Cunningham would ever do a scene like the one on the couch. Brent Spiner looks like he's having fun as Landers' lackey, although he doesn't have that many jokes. Keith David gets a few funny lines. I would have loved to see more from him (he's one of the best character actors working today, and he's obviously willing to be in any kind of movie, that comedy flicks like these should take more of a chance on him, because I'm willing to bet that if given the opportunity he could deliver a classic comedy performance). Robert Hays does a glorified cameo as Rick's father. It's not much of a role, but it's good to see Ted Striker back on the big screen. Nicole Sullivan could have been used more (she's sadly underrated), as could have Jeffrey Tambor (he probably needs the work since we've likely seen the last of Uncle Saul Fish).
And then there's Robert Joy as Dr. Hawking, an obvious parody of scientist Stephen Hawking. He gets the best bits in the whole flick, hands down. His talking computer riffs, the bit where he crashes into the beehive, it's all great, crude stuff. Kevin Hart's Trey, the techno nerd geek friend of Riker, disappears too often to matter (his scene on the bus, though, is hilarious. The nose trimmer bit was funny, you know you laughed). Christopher McDonald, who probably identifies himself on his taxes as a "professional douchebag" (that's a compliment, by the way), is sleazy as hell as Lou Landers. McDonald always plays a great villain regardless of the movie, and that's probably why he got the part for this movie.
Both Drake Bell and Sara Paxton are good as the leads, Rick and Jill, but because the flick peters out in the middle they're not as good at the end as they were at the beginning. They're carried by the rest of the cast.
Special mention should be made to the flick's opening theme. I think it's sad that a superhero spoof movie has a better opening theme than most serious superhero movies. Listen to that opening music. It's inspiring.
So, how could one improve this movie, or really any, of the recent parody movies? I don't really know. It seems as though the makers of these movies just try to fit in as many references to other recent movies as possible, without thinking why ahead of time. Maybe they should make the parody aspects less obvious, less on the nose, and just focus more on the general goofiness of the proposed story. Again, I really don't know.
"Superhero Movie" isn't as bad it could have been. It's worth a look, probably more worth a look on DVD than in the theatre. But, yeah, it has its moments. It's funny sometimes.
So what do we have here? A cool soundtrack, a costumed herp checking himself out with a flashlight, running into a school bus stop sign, rear view mirror, and door, gratuitous black guy with multiple communication gadgets, a nose hair trimmer, gratuitous school cliques, a flaming bird, flash photography, hacking up blood, being pushed into dung, gratuitous horny animals including a snail, gratuitous Marion Ross, gratuitous Leslie Nielson, vomiting into a fish tank, drinking a beer, gratuitous Brent Spiner, gratuitous Dan Castellaneta, dead old people, gratuitous Leslie Nielson farting, gratuitous Google, gratuitous Ted Striker as a KKK member, hot chick wearing two bras, gratutious fat guy man boob fondling, ripping a drinking fountain out of the wall, ripping a fat guy's clothes off, boob touching, gratuitous Stephen Hawking parody, break dancing on a wall, old woman in a wood chipper, nail catching, gratuitous "Batman Begins" parody, a dog drinking booze, a mugging, an electrified fence, more flaming birds, a "1983 Nissan shitbox," "2 girls, 1 cup," gratuitous Tracy Morgan, gratuitous Kurt Fuller, a dancing monkey, gratuitous Jeffrey Tambor, Wolverine shaving his legs, decapitation via sneezing, riding a motorized toilet, gratuitous Pam Anderson, costume designing, beating a man with a fire extinguisher, gratuitous Tom Cruise on youtube parody, gratuitous John Getz, gratuitous Keith David, arm breaking, multiple head smashings, the "upside down" kiss, erect nipples, "Death Machine Maker: Home Version,"stuffing a turkey, urinating after drinking a Big Gulp, urinating from the ceiling, giant fork through the top of the hand, banging a dead body, wacky waving inflatable tube man sex, putting vanilla icing in a bong, smelling a dinner roll, "Douchebag of the Year" (one of the greatest songs of all time), Nelson Mandela attacking Desmond Tutu, gratuitous comic book convention, a dick bomb, and being pushed off the top of a building.
Best lines: "Who am I? You sure you want to know?," "What the F loser?," "Is there a problem, Lance?," "Are you okay? Yes, this is healthy cough blood," "Take it all, bitch!," "Puberty is a difficult time in a young man's life," "Ah, the wonders of manhood. Today you'll have your first beer, and tomorrow we'll circumcise you," "Gentlemen, I think it's time we made some personnel changes," "Watch where you're going in slow mo, dipshit," "Don't forget the bitches," "I had sex with your mother just like your father did!," "With great power comes hot bitches," "Ma'am, rubbing my crotch under the table isn't going to make me change my mind," "Uncle Albert, just try to breathe. I can't, you're kneeling on my balls," "Hey, Storm, it looks like you're putting on a little weight," "How about that invisibitch!," "The secret to being a superhero is making a costume," "Rick, once you understand the true meaning of superheroism you will fly," "This just in. Tom Cruise is dead," "I am the Hourglass! And your time is up!," "Titanium blades. They cut through diamonds. I'm not wearing any diamonds," "Once a month you'll bleed from your vagina," "We have to go. Why? I shit my pants," "Oh, wait, that was someone else's aunt. Your aunt doesn't have a bowel problem. She's dead," "I do have this coupon for a cremation," "I don't love you. You're no longer in my five," "That shortcut through the playground sure saved some time," "Hold up the douchebag! Hold up the douchebag!," "I need you to yank this off," and "Oh, fuck."
The 411: "Superhero Movie" isn't a great movie in any way, but it's much better than the last few parody flicks. It peters out after about forty-five minutes, losing steam until the end, when things pick up a little. There are plenty of lame jokes that don't work, but there are plenty that do, and it's those jokes that make this flick at least one viewing on cable or on DVD. It's not as bad as it could have been.
