The Specials (review)

More amusing when taken by moments than as a whole, this superhero spoof is a worthy companion piece to the similarly themed Mystery Men or the animated cult TV series The Tick, but it fails to reach their heights of satiric brilliance. The Specials are the sixth or seventh greatest superhero team in the world, but it's not their world-saving exploits that are the focus here -- rather, it's the squabbles at their suburban L.A. headquarters, the disastrous launch of their new line of action figures, and the plague of bad PR that garners the sporadic laughs. The cast is game -- Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) as team leader The Strobe, Rob Lowe (View from the Top) as The Weevil, even Jamie Kennedy (Son of the Mask) as reformed supervillain Amok and especially Judy Greer (The Village) as Deadly Girl -- but the flashes of clever wit and pulp wisdom are too frequently overshadowed by cheap crudity. Lots of commentaries and bonuses can't improve the overall experience.