| Superhero Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Craig Mazin |
| Written by | Craig Mazin |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Thomas E. Ackerman |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | James L. Venable |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | MGM Distribution Co. |
Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[2] |
| Box office | $73 million[2] |
Superhero Movie is a 2008 Americanparody film written and directed byCraig Mazin, produced byRobert K. Weiss andDavid Zucker, and starringDrake Bell,Sara Paxton,Christopher McDonald andLeslie Nielsen.
Aspoof of thesuperhero film genre, primarilySam Raimi'sSpider-Man (2002) andChristopher Nolan'sBatman Begins (2005), it also parodies other 2000s superhero films such asX-Men (2000) andFantastic Four (2005). The film draws inspiration from theScary Movie series, with which the film's poster shares a resemblance. It was also inspired by, and contains homages to some ofZucker, Abrahams and Zucker's earlier spoof films such asAirplane! (1980) andThe Naked Gun (1988 and 1994 respectively). In the case of the former, the film was originally titledSuperhero! as a nod toAirplane!, in which Nielsen also starred.
Production began on September 17, 2007, in Los Angeles. It was released byMGM Distribution Co. on March 28, 2008, in the United States to generally negative reviews from critics while grossing $73 million against a $35 million budget.
Rick Riker is an unpopular and unlucky student at Empire High School. He lives with his Uncle Albert and Aunt Lucille, and his best friend, Trey. Rick has a crush on Jill Johnson, but she is dating bully Lance Landers. One day, Rick's class goes on a school field trip to an animal research lab run by terminally ill businessman Lou Landers, Lance's uncle. During the trip, Rick accidentally saturates himself in animal-attraction liquid, which causes a group of animals to flock to him, including a chemically enhanced radioactivedragonfly, which bites his neck.
Meanwhile, Lou creates a machine designed to heal illness. Testing it on himself, he gains perfect health at the cost of needing to drain life energy from a victim per day. To avoid arrest for murder, Lou becomes the villain Hourglass. During ascience fair, Rick's body changes, which creates a number of mishaps. He later realizes that he has developed superpowers from the dragonfly bite. Rick reveals his secret to his uncle and Trey, and an argument starts between him and Albert. The next day, while visiting the bank with Lucille, Rick accidentally allows a bank robber to make off with stolen cash. The robber then shoots and injures Albert.
Charles Xavier contacts Rick and introduces his school for mutants, where Mrs. Xavier tells him to make a costume to be a superhero. At home, Rick creates a superhero costume and dubs himself The Dragonfly. The Dragonfly starts watching over the city and fighting crime, quickly becoming a media sensation despite being unable to fly. Later, Dragonfly attempts to stop Hourglass from robbing a warehouse full of "ceryllium" as part of his evil plan but fails, allowing Hourglass to escape.
Later that night, Jill is attacked by thieves, but The Dragonfly saves her and they share a kiss. Meanwhile, Lou plans to construct a machine that will kill people and give him enough life energy to make him immortal. Later that night, Lou and Lance have dinner with Rick's family and Jill, but Lou secretly learns of Rick's true identity when he notices the same injuries on Rick as on The Dragonfly. Making up an awkward excuse, he and Lance leave. Lou returns minutes later as Hourglass and kills Aunt Lucille. Albert awakens from his coma and learns about her death by his moronic doctor. After her funeral, Jill meets Rick and offers to begin a relationship with him. However, Rick fears for her safety, and rejects Jill, leaving her hurt and furious.
Rick decides to end his superhero career, but knowing that Hourglass would head to an awards ceremony to kill thousands of people, he gets Albert to take him there. At the ceremony, Lou tells Rick theDalai Lama is Hourglass, causing chaos. Meanwhile, Jill discovers that Lou is Hourglass. When Hourglass clashes with Dragonfly on a rooftop, he activates his machine. Dragonfly manages to destroy both the machine and the Hourglass with his own bomb.
The explosion throws Jill off the roof and The Dragonfly dives after her, eventually growing wings and flies. Jill learns that Rick is The Dragonfly due to a family ring he wears being exposed through a hole in his glove and the two begin a relationship. After being thanked for saving the city, Rick flies away with Jill, but the two are unexpectedly rammed by a passing helicopter.
The film was initially slated for theatrical release on February 9, 2007, asSuperhero! under the direction ofDavid Zucker.[3] After being delayed, the film began production on September 17, 2007, in New York, and the director's chair was shifted toCraig Mazin, with Zucker being pushed back to being a producer.[4][5] Though the film was produced in New York, the flyover scenes used as transitions in the film use footage of the business district in downtownKansas City, Missouri.
Zucker said the film primarily parodiedSpider-Man andBatman Begins, but also spoofedX-Men,Fantastic Four, andSuperman. The producer elaborated, "It's a spoof of the whole superhero genre, but this one probably has more of a unified plot, likeThe Naked Gun had."[6] The film also makes fun of certain celebrities and their real-life actions, such asTom Cruise'sScientology video andBarry Bonds'alleged use of steroids. It also makes fun of British scientistStephen Hawking.[7]
On its opening weekend, the film grossed $9,510,297 in 2,960 theaters, averaging to about $3,212 per venue, and ranked No. 3 at the box office.[2][8] It grossed $26,638,520in North America, and $46,387,782 internationally for a total of $73,026,302 in worldwide box office receipts.[2]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval percentage of 16% based on 50 reviews, with the critics consensus reading: "Superhero Movie is not the worst of the spoof genre, but relies on tired gags and lame pop culture references all the same."[9] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 14 critic reviews, meaning "Generally Unfavorable".[10] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.[11]
It was considered an improvement overMeet the Spartans.[12] Luke Y. Thompson ofL.A. Weekly compared it to Mazin's first film,The Specials, saying it was "everything his first film wasn't: predictable, flat, full of name-dropping, tragically unhip, and likely to make a decent amount of cash".[13]
Superhero Movie was released on DVD on July 8, 2008.[2] It was released in the rated PG-13 theatrical version (75 minutes) and the extended edition (81 minutes).[citation needed] The extended DVD features an audio commentary by Zucker, Weiss, and Mazin, deleted scenes, and an alternate ending. There is also a Blockbuster Exclusive version of the film which is the PG-13 version with the bonus features from the unrated version and even more deleted scenes.[citation needed] The European (Region 2) DVD has a 15 certificate and has all the features of the extended region 1 version.[citation needed]
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Sara Paxton performed the song heard during the credits, titled "I Need A Hero", which she also wrote with Michael Jay and Johnny Pedersen.[citation needed]
| "Superhero! Song" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Promotional single byDrake Bell | |
| Released | April 8, 2008(Digital download) |
| Recorded | 2007–2008 |
| Genre | Pop rock |
| Length | 3:14 |
| Label | Universal Republic |
| Songwriters | Drake Bell, Michael Corcoran |
| Producer | Backhouse Mike |
Star of the filmDrake Bell composed (along withMichael Corcoran) and recorded a song for the movie entitled "Superhero! Song" during the movie's post-production. Co-starSara Paxton provided backup vocals for the song. This song can be heard in the credits of the movie, however it is credited as being titled "Superbounce". It originally appeared on Bell'sMyspace Music page. It was released iniTunes Store as a digital downloadable single on April 8, 2008.[citation needed]
missed expectations and earned just $9.51 million during its opening weekend.
