Mystery Men

The super-hero action film certainly needed to be turned on its ear, but the dozen different spins Mystery Men provides turn out to be at least half a dozen too many. The concept offers plenty of potential, positing a collection of second-tier warriors for justice--guys like Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), The Shoveller (William H. Macy) and the flatulent The Spleen (Paul Reubens)--who get their chance when the evil Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush) kidnaps top crimefighter Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear). The film works best by turning its heroes into analogs for contemporary professional athletes, in that career minor-leaguers like the suburban dad The Shoveller wonder whether they'll ever get a shot, while Captain Amazing spends more time shilling products than fighting crime. Although Mystery Men occasionally nails the absurdity of its workaday heroes premise, it's not often enough, as it energetically winds through two hours of comic highlights alternating with unexplored sub-plots. Optional. (S. Renshaw)