Product Description

The Specials, the seventh greatest superhero team in the world, need to improve their image. Unfortunately, they spend more time bickering about love affairs, fiances and publicity, then they do catching Super Villains. However, The Specials' luck may soon change. The Weevil (Rob Lowe), The Strobe (Thomas Hadden Church), Amok (Jamie Kennedy) and the rest of the The Specials hope to gain immortality with their own line of action figures... the superhero equivalent of an Academy Award. Tensions mount when the unveiling of tehh The Specials' toy line makes them look utterly ridiculous. With their dreams shattered, they start fighting amongst themsleves and The Strobe, disgusted with it all, disbands the group. This band of misfit superheroes must now decide whether to go their separate ways or reunite, realizing that whether or not the world needs The Specials, The Specials need each other. Before they can save the world, they'll have to save themselves. This hilarious comedy from Regent Entertainment does for superhero movies what Scream did for horror films and Austin Powers did for spy movies.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #99009 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-03-20
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 82 minutes

Amazon.com
"How do you get to be a Special? You go to a special school." The jibes one endures when a part of the "sixth or seventh best superhero team in the world." The Strobe (Thomas Haden Church) has become vain and self-absorbed, his frustrated wife Ms. Indestructible (Paget Brewster) has gone looking for love in the arms of the Weevil (Rob Lowe), and sex-mad, blue-faced punk Amok (Jamie Kennedy) is getting bored with being a good guy and longs for his supervillain days, when he could sneak a cigarette without publicity fallout. The team is like a bored group of kids stuck indoors on a rainy day, and inaction and frustration has led to backbiting, infighting, love affairs, and long-held grudges. The hilariously disastrous unveiling of their action figures (with such absurd accessories as "a giant meat thermometer") is the final straw: the Specials are no more.

On the surface The Specials looks like a sitcom version of Mystery Men with a droller sense of humor ("Remember the time we caught and drained the Blister?"). The sly script drops the misfit bunch into a suburban world where superheroes are just another part of the media and marketing landscape. First-time director Craig Mazin is a little clumsy putting it all together and perhaps too effectively captures the bland, everyday-ness of the setting, but he tweaks familiar clichés with straight-faced absurdity. The underplayed performances and deadpan gags soon catch up to the concept, and by the end it emerges as the funniest, smartest superhero parody in ages. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Not the Best Superhero Movie, But BetterThan Most
I had the great pleasure of seeing THE SPECIALS at a sneak preview with the cast and crew during the 2000 San Diego ComiCon. The preview audience of diehard comic book fans loved the movie. Since the preview, I have relentlessly hounded my friends and told them to see the movie if ever they got the chance. Now, at long last, THE SPECIALS is available on DVD. If you are a fan of comic books, superheroes and superhero films, order the DVD today. You will be glad you did. The plot is different from most superhero films and it is this difference that makes the film shine. Whereas most films deal with the hero or heroes facing a great evil menace, this film deals with the politics and personality conflicts of being part of the superhero community. Like MYSTERY MEN, the heroes are dysfunctional, but well-meaning. But in the end, MYSTERY MEN was still a heroes vs. villains movie. THE SPECIALS is not. It is a movie of heroes vs. their own natures. It manages somehow to be funny and poignant throughout the film. It is an excellent balance of thought provoking insight on superheroes and human nature and still manages to be incredibly funny. I have waited almost a year for this DVD. It was well worth the wait.

Unusual superhero movie
I really enjoyed this movie. It is funny and insightful; an unusual take on comic book heroes. This is a character movie with no flashy action sequences - it develops slowly and reveals the characters to us over the course of the film.

An Overlooked Comedy
The movie: I saw this movie last year at the San Diego comic convention with a very enthuiastic crowd. The Specials features a great cast of relative unknowns that put on some excellent performances. The laughs come often and there are some truly original jokes that will have your jaw on the floor. While the story seems to falter in some areas, the strength of the characters will have you interested all the way through this movie.

The DVD: It's packed with some very cool stuff. High points: The commentary track, deleted scenes, and toy commercial (based on the superhero characters from the movie) are all very cool.

Final Thoughts: This movie came and went without much fanfare, but you won't be disappointed in the movie or the quality of this DVD. I recommend it fully.