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Superguy

Razor Digital // Unrated // June 22, 2004
List Price: $24.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by Ian Jane | posted June 15, 2004 | E-mail the Author
The Movie:

Superguy – Behind The Cape proudly touts on its cover a quote from The Winston-Salem Journal that claims what 'This Is Spinal Tap did for heavy metal, Superguy does for super heroes.' Well, that's an exaggeration, but thankfully a small one. It's not as clever as Spinal Tap and not quite as funny but it is a very smart, humorous send up of the super hero genre that is much better than its cheese-ball title would suggest.

Mark Teague plays the titular role of Superguy, a self proclaimed ordinary guy with extraordinary powers. He just wants to do well by the world and help out when he can, but sadly the everyday problems we all encounter from day to day can sometimes bring even the most spectacular hero down once in a while.

In his secret identity as Mark Trent, we see Superguy in some rather unflattering lights. He starts off as the apple of the public's eye but when it becomes apparent that he just can't possibly be everywhere and save everyone every time, the tides start turning on him and we witness his decline. Pressures from the outside as well as personal problems bring him down, and ultimately, he has to deal with the media and with the prejudices that ultimately seem to befall those we sometimes don't understand. And when you're a hero as powerful as Superguy, when you fall, the world falls with you.

Some clever ideas skew the comic book mentality the film stays away from. Where Superman was raised by wholesome parents in a small town who encouraged him to have a normal life, Superguy was raised by a drunk gas station owner who sold his son's abilities to the circus at the first chance he got, simply to make a buck. When the media catches on and he becomes popular, a merchandising frenzy ensures, but after his fall from grace happens, his likeness is no longer desirable and he's a b-level celebrity at best. Kind of like Danny Bonaduce.

Told through a series of interviews with those who knew him and worked with him as well as some cleverly disguised news reports and television broadcasts, Superguy – Behind The Cape is an interesting fake documentary that cleverly plays itself completely straight and never descends into camp (which would have been very easy to do and likely would have ruined the film). Teague is quite good in his role as the misunderstand Superman clone and is convincing both inside and outside of his goofy looking leotards.

The DVD

Video:

The film is presented in its original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio. The low budget roots shine through in this transfer and there are a few times where it really doesn't look so hot. This is a mixed bag of sorts, in that a bit of stock footage is used as are a lot of blue screen and computer effects, so the quality tends to fluctuate depending on what we're seeing on the screen. There is some evidence of compression and some mild edge enhancement as well. The good news is that it never gets so bad that it's hard to watch – just don't go in expecting this to look like the Spider-Man Superbit DVD and you should fare ok.

Sound:

A rather average Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo soundtrack adorns this DVD, and it gets the job done without any serious issues. The levels do fluctuate a few times during some scene changes but not wildly enough to send you scrambling for the volume or anything like that. There isn't much in the way of channel separation but the film doesn't really require that and it serves the film reasonably well.

Extras:

The main extra feature is a ten minute Blooper/Behind The Scenes reel that gives us a look at the making of the film by way of some interviews with Superguy himself, Mark Teague, and some rather amusing outtakes. It gives us a reasonably well informed look at what went in to piecing the film together as we witness the genesis of some of the films blue screen effects, a few of the gags, and some dialogue behind the camera.

There are also a handful of deleted scenes that were presumably cut for pacing reasons, as they don't add a whole lot to the film aside from a chuckle here and there. A fair sized still gallery, a pair of trailers for the feature and four trailers for other unrelated Razor Digital releases round out the supplements.

Final Thoughts:

Superguy – Behind The Cape is a surprisingly clever and funny mockumentary that, despite its obvious low budget, is worth checking out. The script is smart, the laughs are plentiful, and Razor Digital has done a solid job on the DVD. Recommended.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.

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