‘Superhero Movie’ flies and drops just short as a parody film
By Marcus Whalbring, Entertainment Editor
We’ve had a cluster of writers and directors in recent years who wished they were David Zucker or Mel Brooks. Zucker and Brooks were brilliant minds who created great parody films such as “Airplane!” and “Space Balls,” and we’ve been subjected to poor imitators who’ve fed us tree bark like “Epic Movie” and “Meet the Spartans.” I sat through “Epic Movie” and I could feel myself start to dry up like a raisin while I asked myself, “Is this over yet?”
I was expecting a similar reaction when I went to see “Superhero Movie,” but I was somewhat surprised.
Writer and director Craig Mazin (who had nothing to do with “Epic Movie,” “Date Movie” or “Meet the Spartans”) was able to pull together something clever. Actually he was the guy who wrote “Rocketman,” a personal favorite of mine, and was one of the writers in “Scary Movie 3” and “Scary Movie 4.”
“Superhero Movie” focuses on Rick Riker (Drake Bell of Nickelodeon’s “Drake and Josh”) who finds himself along a Peter Parker path when he’s bitten by a genetically altered dragonfly, which transforms him into a wall-climbing, wall-crushing superhero called Dragonfly. Suddenly Riker finds himself in the company of other superheroes who, oddly, carry the names of real Marvel superheroes such as the Human Torch, Invisible Girl, Professor Xavier, Wolverine and Storm.
Riker also lives with his quirky aunt and uncle (played by Marion Ross and Leslie Nielsen), who offer the biggest moments of laughter in the film. Nielsen delivers a hilarious performance as always, and Ross gives a moment of gas-powered humor that had my stomach hurting from laughter because, well, farting is always funny.
The villain Hourglass, played by Christopher McDonald (“Happy Gilmore”) doesn’t add much humor to the film but is a necessary part of the plot.
The script, unlike more recent parody films, does not rely on many pop culture references to attempt humor. While “Epic Movie” and “Date Movie” thought that audiences would laugh because there was a reference to Paris Hilton or MTV’s “Cribs,” this film, other than a reference to Tom Cruise, sticks to the usual motive behind a parody film: it pokes fun at the films it references. Most of the films parodied were the first Spider-Man film, the X-Men films and “The Fantastic Four,” but there’s also a small reference to “Batman Begins.”
Of course, such a film is nowhere near perfect. The comedy tries too hard at some points and generally falls flat. When the director seems not to be really trying, it really hurts the film, such as the scene in which the Human Torch yells and screams, “I’M ON FIRE!” and Dragonfly tries to put him out.
I didn’t understand the point of having a Professor Xavier family either. There are three bald children in wheelchairs huddling around their bald mother who’s also in a wheelchair, and it just seems to be a moment that was meant to have the audience rolling. If I recall, there wasn’t much laughter coming from the audience at all during that scene.
Despite a few dry moments, the film does succeed at some points. As I said, the film made me laugh, which was the point. For those who are afraid they’ll find another episode of “Meet the Spartans,” fear not.
This film has a life of its own, separate from the others. If Mazin continues to write and direct, he may find himself next to Zucker and Brooks someday.
