Genuinely original in parts but this works as a comedy only in places.
Special (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:16
Rotten:13
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: This quirky indie comedy's low budget is readily apparent, but it's elevated by Michael Rapaport's dedicated performance.
Runtime: 82 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis:
Les Franken (MICHAEL RAPAPORT) is a kind-hearted and soft-spoken man who loves reading comic books. He’s the type of guy who most people walk by on the street without even noticing; in essence,...
Les Franken (MICHAEL RAPAPORT) is a kind-hearted and soft-spoken man who loves reading comic books. He’s the type of guy who most people walk by on the street without even noticing; in essence, he’s completely average and virtually invisible.
However, everything changes for Les the day he is accepted into an experimental drug study for a new and exciting anti-depressant, Specioprin Hydrochloride. As Les begins to take the drugs an unexpected side effect occurs – he begins to develop special powers: the ability to levitate, to read peoples’ minds, and even walk through walls.
Faced with the dilemma of how best to utilize his new “powers,” the answer seems obvious to Les. He puts together a homemade superhero suit and hits the streets to fight crime and protect the world from the forces of evil.
Surveillance video soon exposes Les and his actions to the public via television news and therefore brings him to the attention of the businessmen developing the drug. Worried about the bad publicity Les is bringing to their new anti-depressant, they attempt to put an end to his superhero antics before too much damage is done. However, in typical comic book fashion, Les sees the men from the drug company as his evil arch nemeses – “The Suits”— men who want him to join them in their evil plan to use ‘Special’ to create an army of unstoppable assassins. Les refuses to play ball. --© Magnolia Pictures
Starring: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker
Starring: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker, Jack Kehler, Alexandra Holden, Ian Bohen, Christopher Darga
Director: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore
Director: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore
Screenwriter: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore
Producer: Edward Parks, Frank Mele
Composer: Tom Wolfe, Manish Raval
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Reviews for Special
Enjoyable comedy drama with a clever premise, some hilarious gags and a great performance from Rapaport.
A surprisingly engaging, provocative little film that's hard to get out of your head.
Special offers a unique spin on the superhero template but rarely soars beyond its sly premise.
Special works as an honest portrait of little people with big dreams even if it remains itself a little movie without a big impact.
I just thought it was a cool indie film with a great leading performance from an actor we don’t usually get to see in a lead.
The premise is intriguing, and the film is occasionally amusing, but it feels stuck between a completely satirical farce and an aching drama.
The sight of him, bloodied but eternally unbowed, in his ridiculous, homemade superhero costume may indeed be totally iconic for true pulp believers.
Take[s] a page from the cartoonist Bill Watterson, who noted of the tiger protagonist in his great Calvin & Hobbes, 'The nature of [the character's] reality doesn't interest me, and each story goes out of its way to avoid resolving the issue.'
It may not be perfect, but this under-the-radar indie from Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore is smart enough to leave you glad you found it.
Ultimately it adds little to our understanding of the curious return of the superhero as our paradigmatic pop archetype.
Shot for pennies -- a cash limitation that benefits the production's creativity and credibility -- this haunting film keeps shifting the ground under our feet
A beautiful metaphor for the desperate need to be important in a world where we rarely make personal connections any more, Special deserves to be seen.
What begins as a mildly amusing indie lark descends into a depressingly unappealing exercise in mico-budget filmmaking.
Its ambitions are limited -- though at 81 minutes, wisely proportioned -- but its heart is in the right place.
A great genre film dissects authentic problems without attempting to supplant them. Reasonably enough, Special belongs to that category with the rest of Magnet’s Six Shooter Series.
Latest News for Special
November 27, 2008:
Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again. ![]()
More...
November 14, 2008:
Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again. ![]()
More...
November 03, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
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January 26, 2006:
SUNDANCE: Weinberg's Sundance Scorecard
With Senh, Jen, and Terrible Tim Ryan roaming the streets of Park City, the Tomato readers have had plenty of Sundance reports to pick through. But I thought I'd contribute my... More...
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