Mystery Men (Summer of Superheroes, Part 9)

We're closing out the Summer of Superheroes with Kinka Usher's star-studded 1999 comedy Mystery Men!

Join in as we discuss the rise of commercial directors in the 1990s, our favorite jokes from the movie, the unfulfilled promise of Geoffrey Rush's Casanova Frankenstein, and, of course, "All Star" by Smash Mouth.

Plus: How many of these characters actually have powers? How much time is supposed to pass in this movie? What exactly is the Blue Raja's (Hank Azaria's) deal? And, most importantly, is "All Star" about a cool person?

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Next week: The War of the Roses (1989)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "The Ad Guys Take Charge" (Los Angeles Times)
• "Drawn to the Old" (Los Angeles Times)
• "Left His Heart on Madison Avenue" (New York Times)
• "Mystery Men at 25: The Flop Superhero Comedy that Deserved Better" (The Independent)
• "Random Roles: Janeane Garofolo" (AV Club)
• "Somebody Once Told Me: An Oral History of Smash Mouth's 'All Star'" (Rolling Stone)
• "Macy Moves to Mystery" (Variety)
• "Reubens Camps it Up - Again" (Orlando Sentinel)
• "My Year of Flops Case File #24: Mystery Men" (AV Club)