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Ok, perhaps I'm just a little bit more enthusiatic about this movie then the average person. But it really is a humerous movie. Basically, the plot quite simple. The city's favorite superhero, Captain Amazing, is kidnapped by the bad guy, Casanova Frankenstein (as a result of his own publicity stunt). Someone has to save him. It becomes a job for the Mystery Men. The original three, Mr. Furious, the Shovler, and the Blue Raja, recruit Invisible Boy, the Spleen, and the Bowler, and along with the help of a mysterious, legendary hero and a mad scientist, save the city from Casanova. Now Captain Amazing fate...well, I'll let you see it for yourself. It's humerous, though. Sure, it's filled with bad puns (Blue Raja, master of silverware, frequently says things like "i shall fork-give you" or "see you spoon"). But if you aren't expecting some intellegent, award-winning masterpiece, you'll be happy with the movie. One think I don't understand is the PG-13 rating. Perhaps it's for violence, although it's not really that violent. The language is actually relatively tame, considering most movies today. So it really makes a nice movie for pre-teens as well as the older crowd.

When Batman debuted on the silver screen in 1989, it offered a dark, brooding vision of the classic caped crimefighter. Since then, the public perception of comic books has taken a darker turn as well. Enter the Mystery Men. This quirky little comedy comes along and lightens the mood, freshens the air, and makes superheroes fun again.

Set in the mythical Champion City, Mystery Men tells the story of three wannabe heroes who want to use their powers to help stop crime. The problem is, the city already has a hero, a golden boy called Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear, You've Got Mail) who dispatches the bad guys and gives product endorsements.

When Amazing's arch-nemesis Cassanova Frankenstein (Geoffery Rush, Shakespeare in Love) captures the hero, the wannabe heroes take it upon themselves to devise a plan to save the city's protector. Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), The Shoveler (William H. Macy), and Blue Raja (Hank Azaria, Godzilla) decide to enlist the help of other super-powered beings. So like a weird, costumed version of The Magnificent Seven, they begin to gather a team, including Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell), Spleen (Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman), and The Bowler (Janeane Garofalo).

As heroes, some of these draftees are lacking. Spleen, for example, has the disgusting power to knock out villains with his tremendous gas. And while Blue Raja (who throws forks) and The Shoveler use rather odd devices for justice, none are more strange than The Bowler, who uses a magical bowling ball imbedded with the skull of her late father.

What makes the story so wonderful are the weaknesses that make each of the heroes so uniquely human. Captain Amazing, despite his powers, frets over the loss of a Pepsi endorsement. Blue Raja still lives at home with his mother and must hide his "secret" life. Such problems are so ordinary, so un-super, that it makes the characters sympathetic and not pathetic.

Although Mystery Men is a comedy, no one told the characters to be funny. We laugh because they take themselves so seriously. Whether it is The Shoveler who implores his wife for understanding about his need to use his "gift of shoveling," or Mr. Furious who squeezes a ball repeatedly in an effort to direct his anger away from his boss, the characters are living a difficult life that we can all - to some extent - relate to. Yet, the situation is so absurd we start laughing at the notion.

There are many great comedians in Mystery Men, so it seems odd that the best performance is given by the straight man in the group. Macy, who has delighted audiences with roles in Pleasantville and A Civil Action, turns in another top-notch showing as The Shoveler. While the other characters are strangely over-the-top at times, The Shoveler is always a simple working man, an everyman. Even though he plays it straight, Macy gets some of the best lines in the movie, and performs some inspired moves with his tool of the trade.

Mystery Men hits every comic book cliche and hammers it home. There are some dazzling special effects, plenty of non-lethal gadgets for catching the bad guys, and -- of course -- a crazy scientist (Tom Waits) who makes them. Thrown into the mix are a number of inside jokes for the comic book crowd, lampooning everything from origin stories to secret identities.

Despite its strange humor, Mystery Men delivers a good message. Each of the heroes is little more than a second-rate imitator, but -- because they work together -- they do make a difference. It's enough to make us believe in heroes once more.

This film is really special. It's not some low budget comedy movie but it's a mix between Batman, Seinfeld and Austin Powers, an overall bizarre combination!

I really like the part when Stiller jumps on the badguys' car and tries to scratch the label off! LOL!

If you really want to give yourself a break and indulge in some innocent childish fun you should watch this movie.