The Specials (film)
| The Specials | |
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DVD cover
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| Directed by | Craig Mazin |
| Produced by | Mark A. Altman |
| Written by | James Gunn |
| Starring |
Thomas Haden Church James Gunn Rob Lowe Jamie Kennedy Judy Greer Sean Gunn Paget Brewster Jordan Ladd Jim Zulevic Kelly Coffield |
| Music by | Brian Langsford |
| Cinematography | Eliot Rockett |
| Edited by | Jeremy Kasten |
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Production
company |
Brillstein-Grey Entertainment
Mindfire Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Fluid Entertainment Regent Entertainment Anchor Bay (DVD) |
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Release date
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Running time
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82 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,000,000 |
| Box office | $13,276 |
The Specials is a 2000 American comedy film about a group of ordinary superheroes on their day off. According to the film, the Specials are the sixth or seventh most popular group of superheroes in the world. Unlike most superhero films, The Specials has almost no action and few special effects; instead it focuses on the average day-to-day lives of the heroes.
The film was written by James Gunn, directed by Craig Mazin, and produced on a small $1 million budget, which is unusual for a superhero-themed film. The MPAA gave the film an R rating for strong language.
The superhero team the Specials has never achieved great popularity or prestige, partially because unlike other super teams it is not corporation-friendly and has been unable to secure merchandising deals. Without the corporate or private financial resources of more well-established teams, the Specials often get underrated villains, small disasters, and the occasional alien invasion to repel — all of which are deemed too low-priority for other superhero teams. Even the members with formidable powers have shortcomings that prevented a transition for the team as a whole. Because team-members such as the Strobe, Ms. Indestructible, The Weevil, Deadly Girl, Power Chick, Amok, Alien Orphan, and Eight all possess various social dysfunctions, they've never quite broken through the superhero glass ceiling.
The team welcomes Nightbird (Jordan Ladd), the group's newest member, a teenage girl with "bird powers." Nightbird, who idolizes the Specials, soon realizes that her heroes do not function as a harmonious team but like a dysfunctional family. One of the two greatest points of stress in the team is the slowly fracturing relationship between the Strobe (Thomas Haden Church) and Ms. Indestructible (Paget Brewster), a married couple at the core of the team. Also problematic is that the Weevil is trying to negotiate an exit into a more high-profile superhero team, playing both on his own popularity and his legacy status from following in his father's footsteps.
The cracks begin to show as they prepare to attend a dinner in their honor thrown by Kosgrov Toys, which is releasing a line of action figures based upon the group. The event is a travesty. It becomes quickly apparent that Kosgrov did little research on the Specials, and low-balled the production by utilizing cheap accessories and recycled parts. Worse yet, the leader of the Specials, the Strobe, discovers that his wife, Ms. Indestructible, is cheating on him with the most popular member of the group, The Weevil (Rob Lowe). In a fit of anger, the Strobe disbands the group, and the members go their own ways.
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Wikipedia