MovieChat Forums > Mystery Men (1999) Discussion > Ben Stiller admits it was horrible

Ben Stiller admits it was horrible

posted 15 years ago by mike-5134
76 replies | jump to latest

Ben Stiller was on Howard Stern yesterday and admits the failure and terribleness of Mystery Men. He said the actors and crew were constantly arguing about how things were done, the director (who had only directed commercials before and after Mystery Men) wanted dozens of takes on even small scenes, the material was dry and everyone just felt bad about it. Artie Lange who had a very small part in the beginning said even his role took more than a week to shoot. He said it was one of those movies that sounded like it could've been funny with the right cast and the right people making it, but it just didn't have either of those.

Just thought it was interesting to hear an actor's take on one of their flops.

[–] Island_Of_Ireland 15 years ago

I completely disagree with him. Give me MM over that joke Zoolander any day. I saw it when I was ten years old when it first came out(cannot believe it was ten years ago) and I loved it. I re-watched it the other week and while some of the humour is a little juvenile at times, I still loved it. You really need to appreciate cult films like this to enjoy them. It needs to be "your thing". And it's one of mine.

Some people didn't like it because it was unfaithful to the comics, fair enough I only read about 2 of them, but I like to view this as a completely different entity.

[–] gilbert_gumphrey 15 years ago

yeah, considering how many movies Stiller's been in that were much worse, it's a shame this is the one he picked on. i loved Mystery Men when i first saw it way back in grade 5, and rewatching it again this week for the first time in years, i still think it's damn funny. ridiculous, sure, and some parts are admittedly embarassing, but way better than Zoolander or Along Came Polly or Meet the Fockers.
cheers
KZ

[–] TheBookGeek 15 years ago

I love this film :p

I couldn't believe it when I saw the low rating

[–] scott-sw 15 years ago

I admit this is not the best film, and it had its problems. But personally, I liked it.

[–] Edren 14 years ago

Yeah I loved it's quirkiness, and it made me laugh a great deal.

Life is just one damned thing after another - Elbert Hubbard

[–] edbelfour3 13 years ago

What about Little Fockers?

[–] hansenmv2002 12 years ago

Ive never been able to watch Zoolander - instant boredom -- MM is too long - that's a writer issue - not an actor one. Still one of my all time favs.

[–] princessd 15 years ago

See, to me, even with those problems, it was still more than decent.

And in my opinion, it was infinitely better than Tropic Thunder, and much more clever to boot. I mean, of the funny bits in TT, none were Ben Stiller's. I much prefer his 'Mr Furious' role to all the stuff he's done since, (and I actually liked Zoolander!).

I think it was ahead of it's time, and that people didn't 'get' it. I don't think they were ready for Mystery Men. I also think actors tend to distance themselves from financial flops, because it's an unwritten rule that if it doesn't make money, it has to be terrible. It's not true, and plenty of things that he's made that DID make money, are terrible, but I digress. I personally really liked it. It has a fantastic cast, great characters (this movie made me a William H Macy fan), and I quote it all the time. Sure, it could have been even better, but a lot of movies are like that. I think it's strong enough to base a sequel on, myself. I can't say that about Dodge Ball, or Starsky & Hutch, Tropic Thunder, or even Something About Mary.

*shrug* Shame he thinks that well, but oh well.

[–] town_plagiarist 15 years ago

I think it was ahead of it's time, and that people didn't 'get' it. I don't think they were ready for Mystery Men. I also think actors tend to distance themselves from financial flops, because it's an unwritten rule that if it doesn't make money, it has to be terrible. It's not true, and plenty of things that he's made that DID make money, are terrible, but I digress. I personally really liked it. It has a fantastic cast, great characters (this movie made me a William H Macy fan), and I quote it all the time. Sure, it could have been even better, but a lot of movies are like that. I think it's strong enough to base a sequel on, myself. I can't say that about Dodge Ball, or Starsky & Hutch, Tropic Thunder, or even Something About Mary.

I agree with everything you said. I think Ben Stiller probably didn't enjoy making the film, as evinced by his comments and Mystery Men is probably regarded as a failure.

This movie was a refreshing change from most superhero movies made, and I enjoyed it a lot. This is a case where the characters make the film, and looking up and down the cast it's not hard to see why.

[–] sat-elite 15 years ago

Possibly his best film to date, with Duplex a (really) close second).

the directing and processing of script into a polished product may have been not to his liking, but it works well.

Like Tarantino, Stiller just doesn't understand the movie business, and is not the right person to employ when it comes to consistency.

[–] scifi75 13 years ago

I agree with the comment that actors and actresses will trash a movie that they were in AFTER it has bombed. I have seen Robbin Williams trash The Bicentennial Man and it was a good movie that honored most of what Isaac Asimov had written about robots. It was certainly much better than the garbage he cycled afterward to make a paycheck.

There is something about MM I like and I can see why it has become a cult hit. I think that it has to do with the fact that it is not a stand alone superhero movie and that it pokes some fun at the genre along the way. It also has a great cast with the likes of Macy, Stiller and Azaria. If these actors did not get along they certainly did not allow it to show in their performances. It's unfortunate it did so poorly because I would have loved to have seen a sequel with this cast.

[–] redlily-2 12 years ago

Stiller thought it was horrible?
Guess he hasn't seen "Meet the Fockers" or "Little Fockers" yet.
Or he just didn't "get" Azaria, Macy, Waits, Garafalo, Reubens or Waits. Some very funny lines, and expertly delivered. Geoffrey Rush and Eddie Izzard were funny as hell, too. Great stuff!
Stiller is a marginal actor, sometimes a funny one, but he's not a rocket scientist...

[–] thewood 12 years ago

and waits
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[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] thewood 12 years ago

ah the thpleen !
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it frequently gets
too -weird- for me
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[–] SpiltPersonality 15 years ago

He can't 'admit it was horrible'. He can admit 'in his opinion it is horrible' but to say it the way you've typed it makes it sound like Ben Stiller's opinion is the only valid one.

I love this film.

SpiltPersonality

[–] AStreetwalkingCheetah 15 years ago

Wow,I'm surprised he considers it a failure when it's so much better and funnier than a lot of the movies he's done.Fair enough,some might have made better box office,but the Cassanova Frankenstein finger p.o.v in his battle with Mister Furious is funnier than A night at the museum and meet the Fockers combined in my opinion...and Tom Waits was in it!Come on,how cool is that!

[–] jaddjamar 15 years ago

I think it is great, a hundred times better than the overhyped unfunny Tropic Thunder.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] katthundgris7 15 years ago

Yeah, the cassanova frankenstein finger! It was great, i liked this move way back, and when i watched it again a just a few days ago i still liked it, maybe even loved it.

[–] grimneda 15 years ago

I thought it was a spoof of on superheroes, and their movies. I don't know, but for some reason Mr. Furious reminds me of Wolverine with the hair, the short statue, being angry all the time.

I thought this movie is great, and is one of my favorites. I wastch it when ever I start quoting it. I love it so much.

[–] shockabsorber 15 years ago

Wow that's odd, I consider it his best movie (that I've seen anyway)

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[–] Hawkins85 14 years ago

"Dry" sounds about right...yet I love re-watching this film anyway. Hank Azaria suffers in this the most whilst Greg Kinnear and Geoffrey Rush steal the show. I think Mr. Furious is a cool role for Ben Stiller even if he hates it. There are some nice little things in there such as (roughly):

***SPOILER***

"Rage taking over" - Mr. Furious

"Yes, we've heard all zat before" - Casanova Frankenstein

(bloodshot eyes) "No, rage really taking over"

Mr. Furious bobs at Frankenstein with twitching hands before giving him a light ear clap

"Ow"

****

[–] Hawkins85 14 years ago

Oh yeah and the Casanova Finger POV is legend.

[–] orggothabillie 11 years ago

like I care what stiller thinks movie is great & if you dont like it why the F are you at its IMDB page

[–] hristomladenov 14 years ago

Ben Stiller thinks Jack Black is funny. I wouldn't trust Ben Stiller.

[–] rmontro 14 years ago

Yeah, I think Stiller just views it as a failure because it didn't do well at the box office. If it would have been a big hit maybe he'd view it differently.

Maybe he's not that fond of it because he had to share the spotlight with quite a few others. He was the lead, but it was more of an ensemble piece. I can't believe he said he didn't like the cast, that's just crazy.

[–] goofyball 14 years ago

It proves stiller has bad taste cuz this movie is awesomely funny

[–] christopher-arnold-1 14 years ago

Funny... Stiller was the one thing I didn't like in the movie.

[–] JediColt 14 years ago

Actor's and Directors have a tendency to distance themselves from their financial failures. Look no further than Blade Runner. When it was released it was a HUGE commerical flop, and Harrison Ford distanced himself from it greatly.

All you heard for those first couple of years was how much fighting there was among castmembers, he and Sean Young didn't get along, the crew hated Ridley Scott, too much studio interference.

Then suddenly the movie becomes a HUGE cult classic, and is now considered a great film, having spawned a couple of Director's cuts and having a strongs fanbase. Suddenly all those people that distanced themselves from it come running back to admit that while it was hard work and they fought a lot, the movie was still great.

[–] dio52 11 years ago

Bad example. One of Ford's biggest gripes was the awful voice over that the studio foisted upon the film, aside from the difficult shoot. He distanced himself from a version of the film that existed alone for a decade, at a time before it was common for director's cuts to be released, and I don't blame him one bit, because the theatrical cut really was rubbish. The film didn't become a cult hit until the DC fixed a ton of flaws.

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