Movie Review: ‘Hero’ hodgepodge not that bad, but not that super

Collective sighs could be heard around the theater when the trailer for “Superhero Movie” first ran. Oh no! Not another spoof. Having to sit through another “Meet the Spartans” would be on par with a visit to the dentist minus the lollipop at the end.

Packed with pretty witty dialogue and inside jokes for the iPod generation, this one surprisingly rises above the fray to result in uproarious laughter (from most).

To digress for a moment—this film should garner two separate reviews. It will be many 14-year-olds’ favorite flick pick of 2008, though most of those teenagers’ mothers won’t care for the 70 minutes of grandma farting, peeing or dry humping contained within this David Zucker and company pic.

The plot is silly “Spider-Man” with a bit of bogus “Batman,” “X-Men” and “Fantastic Four” thrown in.

High school dweeb Rick Riker (Drake Bell of Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh” fame) is the 1.0 Peter Parker. He lives with his dear Aunt Lucille (Marion Ross) and Uncle Albert (Leslie Nielson, the magical spoof ingredient) and has a crush on the most popular girl in school.

During a field trip to a local manufacturing plant, Rick has an accident and a potent artificial pheromone is dumped all over him. This results in a hilarious “Love Potion No. 9” moment involving all the lab’s animals. Including a dragonfly that bites him, transforming him into “Dragonfly.”

He slowly discovers his superpowers—break-dancing on the wall included—and is ready to embark upon some type of crime fighting. Because he is a doofus Rick ends up more the Lucille Ball of superheroes—hurting his victims more than helping them due to clumsiness. There’s one flashback ala Bruce Wayne where Rick was trying to save his parents from a robber in an alley and ends up offing them instead. Director/writer Craig Mazin pokes extreme fun at the vulnerability all superheroes must portray. If they were really so sensitive and introverted, they could never save the planet. Superman would’ve needed a psychiatrist and Batman a prescription for Paxil.

Along his trek to save the planet Rick is thwarted by crazy CEO Lou Landers (Christopher McDonald, aka “Shooter McGavin”) whose alter ego “Hourglass” can only gain power by sucking the life force of others at least once a day.

The ultimate showdown is set for the World Humanity Awards (imagine the how funny it is to see the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela in comedic distress) where “Hourglass” is planning a mass murder.

Tracey Morgan comes into counsel Rick as Professor Xavier—just seeing him in the bald cap is hilarious enough. Other cameos include Pamela Anderson as Invisible Girl (“Invisab*#@h”), Regina Hall (from the “Scary Movie” series), Charlene Tilton, Robert Hays (“Airplane”), Lil’ Kim and Craig Bierko.

Another scene to look for—that might spawn a spoof in its own right—is Miles Fisher’s portrayal of a berserk Tom Cruise.

He’s seen on a YouTube interview saying he can fly, and then shown trying to fly (LOL—ask your kid/grandkid what that means). Other references made that may or may not fly over your head, depending upon your birthday, include Facebook, MySpace, Craigslist and google. It really personalizes the film for a certain generation.

For example: When “Hourglass” is trying to figure out how to kill everyone, he uploads a “Death Machine Maker” computer program and the little helper paper clip asks, “Looks like you’re planning a mass murder, do you need help?”

This is either a hit or miss—no gray area here—the movie exiting convo will be elated or exasperated. Relevant, goofy and fun “Superhero Movie” is sure to be a hot shot at the box office whether you like it or not.

Adrienne Mackay is a freelance movie reviewer.

Movie Review

2/4 Stars

Action/Comedy

Run time: 1 hour, 25 minutes.

Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, comic violence, drug references and language.

Starring: Drake Bell, Sara Paxton, Christopher McDonald, Leslie Nielsen.

Written by: Craig Mazin.

Directed by: Craig Mazin.