Mystery Men is Better Than You Remember

Рет қаралды 2,819

Жыл бұрын

I've never understood why Mystery Men flopped. Maybe it was the middling reviews. Maybe it was the timing (it came out after Batman & Robin flopped and almost took the genre down with it, but before X-Men and Spider-man jumpstarted the modern superhero boom).
Regardless, it's an eerily prescient satire about the future state of superhero media, and the sole directing credit of Kinka Usher - a filmmaker so obscure that people are to this day convinced that he's just a pseudonym for Tim Burton, even though he's directed some of the most iconic commercials of all time.
On this episode of Too Many Tapes: Better Than You Remember, let's take a look at this somewhat overlooked Ben Stiller comedy and see into its deeper heart.
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Пікірлер: 44

@GoryRory Жыл бұрын

I hadn't seen this film until a couple of years ago and couldn't believe I had missed out on it for so long. It's so wonderfully weird and charming and you covered it fantastically here. Thank you so much for discussing it and hopefully for bringing it to others' attenion who haven't yet seen this gem. I'd also like to give a shout out to my favourite composer, Shirley Walker, who wrote awesome additional music for the film.

@hezekiahramirez6965 11 ай бұрын

That's interesting, I was wondering how this movie would be received by modern audiences who have no nostalgia for it. I think it holds up well but I have also loved it for decades so I'm not objective I think this movie was ahead of its time. That's one of its two main issues. The other is it was made at a time when superhero movies weren't being taken seriously. It looks more like Steel or Batman And Robin than an MCU movie and that's always been hard to make work financially But fortunately we're now in an era where the ridiculous/goofy side of superheroes is being embraced again and with most of the cast becoming far more bankable names now I think it would be a great time for a sequel. It would probably go straight to streaming but you don't need a huge budget to make this work. The cast is probably the biggest expense

@julieta8683 Жыл бұрын

I love this underrated superhero comedic gem 😂💕🎥

@Jetsparx373 7 ай бұрын

We all do, kind of crazy this was the director Kinka Usher's only feature-length credit. He was mostly known for doing commercials, and the higher-ups at Universal hired him for this picture because of his visual style.

@LifesNeverHumDrum 5 ай бұрын

In the realm of “this was the guy’s first feature film” this is really high up there, I was so surprised to learn he’d only done commercials before

@MadMattInc1 Жыл бұрын

Love this movie. In fact I used to work at a convention and we had gotten the OK to air the movie. I can't tell you how many people we had in an hour and half walk up to viewings and go "OH Mystery Men! Are you showing it later? Dang it I'm in the middle of (event here) right now."

@TheACcam 2 ай бұрын

I have always felt Mystery Men was ahead of its time. The mainstream population wasn't ready for it because they had not yet embraced what Mystery Men poked fun at.

@SoupedUpCustoms 6 ай бұрын

Mystery Men movie is what MCU "comedy" movies trying to be.... but failed. The reason the Mystery Men flopped back in the day could be that it was ahead of it's time.

@wendymccoy1093 Жыл бұрын

Yesss! I watched this VHS on loop as a kid!

@joesmith201212 3 ай бұрын

Me too it just cracks me up so many small little jokes sprinkled all over the movie.. and they just constantly makes you smile every time you watch it

@ydna Жыл бұрын

man I love this one, I remember seeing it in the theater on its opening weekend. then later the DVD had a metric ton of deleted scenes too.

@LifesNeverHumDrum 5 ай бұрын

Yes! The deleted bits of backstory for the heroes was super nice, though it makes sense why they got cut

@eliseovaldez1335 14 күн бұрын

Growing up with this movie was great! My brothers and I still randomly quote this movie.

@SuburbanSavage 10 ай бұрын

Michael Bay is actually in this movie, playing one of the Frat Boys.

@LifesNeverHumDrum 5 ай бұрын

I can’t hear his name without seeing him in that damn sweater, asking if he can “bring the brewskies”.

@allikuja 7 ай бұрын

100% well said. Mystery Men has always been my favorite movie because of all the charm and character you highlighted here ❤️ Also the puns. Such great gags in this movie.

@LifesNeverHumDrum 5 ай бұрын

My mom and I have a hard time not quoting this movie to eachother even after all these years. Any time something confusing happens in a movie, one of us will mutter “and why am I wearing the watermelon on my feet?”

@saintsfan9633 Жыл бұрын

This movie is awesome.

@georgemoua7349 3 ай бұрын

Mystery Men were the Boys before they had a graphic novel then adapted to live action series.

@TheMixedPlateFrequency 3 ай бұрын

i remember this film. I thought it was pretty good and always fun to keep watching. I had no idea it actually flopped.

@MrRYANG96 10 ай бұрын

I have never seen nor heard of Mystery Men before, but watching your review convinces me to add it to my watch-list. Plus the aesthetics used are really eye-catching for real.

@Auryanne 3 ай бұрын

It's really funny, I quote it all the time 😂

@hezekiahramirez6965 11 ай бұрын

Oh no it most certainly is not. I love this movie and absolutely remember how good it was. In fact, in this era of superhero movies and legacy sequels I think we should get a Mystery Men sequel. With a cast like this it would be a shame if we couldn't see them again

@daverogers1516 4 ай бұрын

Brilliant analysis. Just got the 4K UHD and this film is just gorgeous. One of my favorite movies since release. I appreciate all the thought and effort in this review.

@TheSimCaptain 22 күн бұрын

At last, someone actually gets this movie. I hate it when I cough up a lung watching this hilarious masterpiece and an "expert" tells me why I shouldn't.

@KKAkuoku Жыл бұрын

A borderline lurid take on modern superheroes with a warm, gooey, leftist center. I think I can get with this!

@tinnagigja3723 7 ай бұрын

Better than I remember? How could it be better than perfect?

@LifesNeverHumDrum 5 ай бұрын

One of my favorite movies, watched it to death as a kid (literally, one of the VHS tapes I watched til it wore out) and I will go to bat for it any day. When I think of All Star, I think of this movie. When I think of superhero movies, I think of this movie (and The Incredibles 😂) thank you for this review!

@parkerpshebnisky1051 10 ай бұрын

A clut classic!👍👍

@VILL4IN Жыл бұрын

thanks, needed something to watch :D

@joeypolisena 3 ай бұрын

Mr Amazing reminds me of Homelander

@peacefuljeffrey 7 ай бұрын

“One … weird … Sam Raimi finger-cam thing.” As much as I love this movie, you really did justice to it with an extremely insightful analysis of it. Well done! I’m subscribing now.