Special
Director: Hal Habermann and Jeremy Passmore
Cast: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Jack Kehler
Anyone who has ever read a comic has dreamt about being a superhero, and most manage to keep it just that, a dream. Then there are people who take drugs and believe they have superpowers. So when you get a drug-taking comic book fan you have a potentially lethal cocktail. The hero of Special, Les Franken (Michael Rappaport), isn't your usual stoner comic fan, but a rather lonely individual who works as a parking inspector. He volunteers to be part of pharmaceutical test for a new anti-depression drug, Specioprin Hydrochloride or "Special", which is supposed to "inhibit the chemical in the brain responsible for self-doubt". Unfortunately for Les, the drug has an unexpected side-effect, which makes him believe he has super-powers and therefore a mission to use them for good.
Creating his own costume, a silver-painted jumpsuit, he goes around protecting the innocent and accosting villains, or at least what he perceives to be. Our hero is more along the lines of Mystery Men, with no real discernible powers, although he does believe he can levitate, if not exactly fly, read minds and walk through walls. To enhance the conceit, the filmmakers, Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore, show his exploits from his point of view and from that of the rest of the world.
Les's antics soon attract the attention of the media and also of two shifty characters behind the drug and the research. Fearing adverse publicity for their product they try to eliminate Les, further adding to his paranoia, but for the most part he manages to not only evade them but confront them as well.
Shot on a relatively low budget, the filmmakers make the most of their limited resources to bring the strong script to the screen. There are some great comedic moments, interspersed with pathos and some impressive action and stunts, with Rappaport literally throwing himself into the role. Apart from the heroics the film serves up an indictment of the pharmaceutical industry and its often unethical practices. It also looks at people's need to be accepted and admired by society. These underlying themes are not forced and the main thread of the story, of a man wanting to do something heroic, remain at the forefront of the narrative.
It is not as complex a film as Primer, but its look and feel put it in the same category of original, independent sci-fi features that will appeal to more intelligent audiences wanting a change from the glossy, Hollywood blockbusters that fill the cinemas over the summer months.
Watch the trailer
QuickTime
Windows Media
Special will be on UK release from November 17, from Revolver Entertainment.
Cast: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Jack Kehler
Anyone who has ever read a comic has dreamt about being a superhero, and most manage to keep it just that, a dream. Then there are people who take drugs and believe they have superpowers. So when you get a drug-taking comic book fan you have a potentially lethal cocktail. The hero of Special, Les Franken (Michael Rappaport), isn't your usual stoner comic fan, but a rather lonely individual who works as a parking inspector. He volunteers to be part of pharmaceutical test for a new anti-depression drug, Specioprin Hydrochloride or "Special", which is supposed to "inhibit the chemical in the brain responsible for self-doubt". Unfortunately for Les, the drug has an unexpected side-effect, which makes him believe he has super-powers and therefore a mission to use them for good.
Creating his own costume, a silver-painted jumpsuit, he goes around protecting the innocent and accosting villains, or at least what he perceives to be. Our hero is more along the lines of Mystery Men, with no real discernible powers, although he does believe he can levitate, if not exactly fly, read minds and walk through walls. To enhance the conceit, the filmmakers, Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore, show his exploits from his point of view and from that of the rest of the world.
Les's antics soon attract the attention of the media and also of two shifty characters behind the drug and the research. Fearing adverse publicity for their product they try to eliminate Les, further adding to his paranoia, but for the most part he manages to not only evade them but confront them as well.
Shot on a relatively low budget, the filmmakers make the most of their limited resources to bring the strong script to the screen. There are some great comedic moments, interspersed with pathos and some impressive action and stunts, with Rappaport literally throwing himself into the role. Apart from the heroics the film serves up an indictment of the pharmaceutical industry and its often unethical practices. It also looks at people's need to be accepted and admired by society. These underlying themes are not forced and the main thread of the story, of a man wanting to do something heroic, remain at the forefront of the narrative.
It is not as complex a film as Primer, but its look and feel put it in the same category of original, independent sci-fi features that will appeal to more intelligent audiences wanting a change from the glossy, Hollywood blockbusters that fill the cinemas over the summer months.
Watch the trailer
QuickTime
Windows Media
Special will be on UK release from November 17, from Revolver Entertainment.
posted by Chris Patmore at 1:40 PM
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