Superhero Movie
| Superhero Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Craig Mazin |
| Written by | Craig Mazin |
| Produced by | David Zucker Robert K. Weiss |
| Starring | Drake Bell Sara Paxton Christopher McDonald Leslie Nielsen Kevin Hart |
| Cinematography | Thomas E. Ackerman |
| Music by | James L. Venable Drake Bell |
| Distributed by | The Weinstein Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Dimension Films |
Release dates | March 28, 2008 |
Running time | Theatrical cut 75 min. Extended cut 82 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35,000,000 |
| Box office | $59,292,183 |
Superhero Movie is a 2008 comedy film written and directed by Craig Mazin, and produced by David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss. Production began in September 2007 in New York. It was released on March 28, 2008 in the United States, and the UK release was June 6, 2008. The film was rated PG-13 by the MPAA for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references, and language.
Superhero Movie is a spoof comedy film that spoofs superhero films, mainly the first Spider-Man, following in the footsteps of the Scary Movie series of comedies, with which the movie's poster shares a notable resemblance. It mainly parodies the first Spider-Man in the way that Airplane! parodied Zero Hour!. The film also contains some homages to Airplane! and The Naked Gun such as how the actor, Leslie Nielsen, who played Dr. Rumack in Airplane!, plays Rick Riker's uncle in Superhero Movie.
Plot Outline
After being bitten by a genetically-altered dragonfly, high school loser Rick Riker (Drake Bell) develops superhuman abilities such as superhuman reflexes and armored skin (although he cannot fly). Rick decides to use his new powers for good and becomes a costumed crime fighter known as "The Dragonfly." However, standing in the way of his destiny is the villainous Lou Landers (Christopher McDonald). After an experiment gone wrong, Lou develops the power to steal a person's life force and in a quest for immortality becomes the supervillain, "The Hourglass." Throughout the movie, Rick tries to woo the girl of his dreams (Sara Paxton) and battle the comically vicious Hourglass and finally becomes able to fly.
Cast
- Drake Bell[1] as Rick Riker / Dragonfly
- Sara Paxton[1] as Jill Johnson
- Christopher McDonald[1] as Lou Landers / Hourglass
- Leslie Nielsen[1] as Uncle Albert
- Kevin Hart[1] as Trey
- Marion Ross[1] as Aunt Lucille
- Ryan Hansen[1] as Lance Landers
- Keith David as Chief Karlin
- Robert Joy as Stephen Hawking
- Brent Spiner[1] as Dr. Strom
- Jeffrey Tambor[1] as Dr. Whitby
- Robert Hays as Blaine Riker
- Nicole Sullivan as Julia Riker
- Tracy Morgan[2] as Professor Xavier
- Regina Hall[2] as Mrs. Xavier
- Craig Bierko as Wolverine
- Simon Rex as the Human Torch
- Pamela Anderson as the Invisible Girl
- Miles Fisher as Tom Cruise
- Dan Castellaneta as Carlson
- Charlene Tilton as Mrs. Johnson
- Sean Simms as Barry Bonds
- Freddie Pierce as Tony Bennett
- Howard Mungo as Nelson Mandella
- Lil' Kim as Xavier's Daughter
Production
The film, produced by David Zucker (who originally was directing it), was initially slated for theatrical release on February 9 2007.[3] The film later began production on September 17 2007 in New York.[1][4] Zucker said the film primarily parodied Spider-Man, but it also spoofed Batman Begins, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Superman. The producer elaborated, "It's a spoof of the whole superhero genre, like we did with the Scary Movies, but this one probably has more of a unified plot, like the Naked Gun had."[2]
Craig Mazin directed and wrote Superhero Movie, which was originally titled 'Superhero!'. Mazin had previously worked with Zucker on Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4, co-writing those movies. He claims that some of his "heroes" are Pat Proft, Jim Abrahams, and Robert K. Weiss, whom he worked with on those movies.
Star of the film Drake Bell composed and recorded a song just for the movie entitled "Superhero! Song". In the song he included co-star Sara Paxton on backup vocals. This song can be heard in the credits of the movie, however it is credited as being titled "Superbounce". This song was released onto the iTunes Store as a digital downloadable single on April 8th, 2008.
Sara Paxton also sings the second song heard during the credits, titled "I Need A Hero" (not to be confused with Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero"), which she also wrote with Michael Jay and Johnny Pedersen.
Reception
Critical response
The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. As of April 2, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 15% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 39 reviews. However, most critics preferred this film over previous spoof films, such as 2007's Epic Movie and the recent Meet the Spartans (both directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer), which were critically panned.[5] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 33 out of 100, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally negative reviews". [6]
Box office performance
On its opening weekend, the film grossed $9,510,297 in 2,960 theaters averaging to about $3,212 per venue and ranked #3 at the box office. As of June 25th it has grossed $25,817,760 in North America, and $31,608,683 overseas for a total of $57,426,443 worldwide.
Sequel
Craig Mazin has announced that there will be a sequel. Pamela Anderson, Drake Bell, and Leslie Nielsen are all contracted for a second film. Craig said he would like to spoof Iron Man, Dragonball, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Watchmen, and The Dark Knight.[citation needed]
Parody targets
The film parodies the entire superhero genre but is mainly a direct parody of the first Spider-Man.[2] However, the film also features some parts with the Batman Begins, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four. The scene of the death of Bruce Wayne's parents is parodied. Three of the Fantastic Four are featured in the movie, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl and the Human Torch.
The film also makes references and homages to other films such as when Rick Riker and Trey are in a bus and Trey is pointing out the different groups of cliques, one of which is "Frodos" - kids dressed up as Hobbits looking similar to Frodo, the Lord of the Rings character.
The film also parodies certain celebrities and their real-life actions such as Tom Cruise's scientology video and Barry Bonds' alleged use of steroids.[7] The movie also has a number of instances of product placement for products such as T-Mobile, MySpace, Facebook, iPods, Craigslist, Wikipedia, and Google.
DVD release
Superhero Movie was released on DVD July 8, 2008. It was released in the rated PG-13 theatrical version (75 min.) and the unrated extended edition (82 min.).
Special features
- Audio commentary by writer/director Craig Mazin and producers David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss - Extended Version Only
- Deleted scenes
- Alternate ending
- Meet the Cast featurette
- The Art of Spoofing featurette
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dave McNary (2007-09-19). "Dimension casts 'Super' spoof". Variety. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c d Anthony Breznican (2008-02-07). "Coming attractions: Superheroes get spoofed in 'Movie'". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Sarah Levinson-Rothman (2006-04-16). "'Scary Movie 4' Sets Box Office Record". PR Newswire.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Gina Piccalo (2007-09-20). "Superheroes to get a sendup". Los Angeles Times.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Superhero Movie Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ "Superhero Movie (2008): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
- ^ Brian Orndorf (2008-03-28). "THIS IS BRIANDOM: Film Review: Superhero Movie". brianorndorf.com. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
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External links
