Champion City, a dark, gothic, but otherwise nice metropolis, is almost out of criminals, thanks to the valiant and corporate-sponsored superhero Captain Amazing. Numerous supervillain and superhero wanna-bes crowd the streets for the limelight, but Captain Amazing outshines the would-be heroes of tomorrow, and outsmarts the ever-decreasing populaiton of would-be villains. But when he feels his popularity is waning, Captain Amazing secretly engineers the release of his arch-enemy, Casanova Frankenstein, from the local asylum. On the very night that Casanova is freed, he blows up the asylum to lure Captain Amazing to his mansion. But this time, Casanova is one step ahead of Captain Amazing, taking him prisoner as part of a plot to take over the minds of everyone in Champion City. Second-rate superheroes Mr. Furious, the Blue Raja and the Shoveler set about recruiting other superheroes for their big chance to free Captain Amazing and save the city. There's just one problem - none of them have much in the way of useful powers, and they can't get their act together.

The first superhero media entity I have enjoyed in many, many years\ (the last one I really liked was Superman II), Mystery Men proves at last that there is hope for superhero comic characters on the big screen. It can be done well.

       "But wait," you ask. "Isn't Mystery Men a comedy?"

       Indeed it is, and a good one at that. In a way, Mystery Men's premise is similar to J. Michael Straczynski's comic series Rising Stars, which examines what might happen if superheroes did exist in today's society. The Superman, Batman or Spider-Man ideal of someone quietly leading a double life in full view of the world is hopelessly outmoded. Not only would corporate sponsors be trying to attach themselves, leech-like, to anyone possessing such powers, but you'd also have more than a fair share of wanna-bes.

       This is where Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria and company enter the picture. Not only are they self-styled, self-proclaimed superheroes, but they're pretty lousy at it. After coming home from their low-paying menial jobs, they don their costumes and strut the streets, making every attempt to do good, but failing miserably most of the time.

       Their powers aren't even remotely special, either; Blue Raja wields cutlery like nobody since Noel Crombie, but at least Noel could coax a tune from his spoons. Blue Raja has a tendency to lodge forks and other dinnerware in the posteriors of his erstwhile cohorts rather than any supervillains who might be nearby. Mr. Furious' power comes from his enormous undirected temper, but it really doesn't do him any good in a fight. And the Shoveler, with his potentially deadly (but perfectly normal) shovel, is lucky if he can hit himself with it, let alone anyone else, and his wife is contemplating leaving him if he doesn't give up his fruitless super-aspirations. These guys, in short, are hopeless.

       But in a way, so is Captain Amazing. Having gotten used to the wealth and luxury afforded by his super exploits, he's more than aware that the current crop of supervillains-in-training is far from being a promising field of worthy adversaries. So Captain Amazing decides to assist his old arch-enemy, Casanova Frankenstein (Shine's Geoffrey Rush, a truly inspired piece of casting), in seeking parole from a mental institution (which bears more than a little resemblance to the Arkham Asylum). But once Casanova is back to his old tricks, the tables are turned and Captain Amazing falls victim to his own complacency and is taken prisoner.

       The movie keeps a brisk pace, and in some places non-sequiturs crop up in the plot, many of which can be forgiven because Mystery Men is a spoof. But either despite that fact or because of it, I found Mystery Men so much more enjoyable than any of the newfangled Batman movies of the past decade. Perhaps even more surprising was how young this movie's target audience seems to be. Though there's some very juvenile humor - the Spleen's super-farting ability, and Doc Heller's gadget which shrinks clothing - there is no nudity, and the worst language heard in the movie is a single utterance of "oh, shit" within the final fifteen minutes. Nobody gives anyone the finger, the violence is ridiculously unrealistic, and all in all, it's probably safe for your kids.

       Many people, myself included, looked forward to the reunion of Ben Stiller and Janeane Garofalo, both of whom suddenly forced their way into the public consciousness in Stiller's short-lived sketch comedy series on Fox circa 1991. But they don't share a lot of screen time, and Mystery Men is not some woefully over-long sketch left over from the Ben Stiller Show. Garofalo, playing the vengeful daughter of a slain superhero (whose skull is embedded in her transparent bowling ball), gets some hilariously good lines, the best being "I'm going to graduate school now, that was the agreement!" after finally avenging her father's death. (She frequently talks to dear old dad's permanently-preserved skull, revealing a huge range of all-too-common father/daughter relationship neuroses.) Stiller, somewhat surprisingly, falls into the background for roughly the middle one-third of the film.

       Some of the best casting is in the supporting players; Paul Reubens makes the violently-flatulent Spleen a true breakout role (not hard to do, since his face is permanently broken out in acne), and Kel Mitchell of Keenan & Kel fame does an excellent job with his few standout scenes as the Invisible Boy. (He's not really invisible. His best line? "Dad, I'm going up to my room with three strange men...")

       The music is almost invisible. The only time the score takes center stage is when the Bowler unleashes the killer bowling ball which encases her father's skull; a hilariously clichèd dijeridoo motif announces her just-about- super powers. Pop songs frequently appear, most notably Smash Mouth's "All-Star."

       At the core of Mystery Men is an almost cynical parable about the value of teamwork and friendship, a detail which is sometimes almost lost - but then again, in this age of kids who have grown up with The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, South Park and what have you, I think that near-mocking approach is perhaps the best way to get through to them.

       Mystery Men is a surprisingly clean comedy with a surprisingly wholesome message buried somewhere in its center, and I can honestly say I think you'll enjoy it.

• written by Bob Burden and Neil Cuthbert
• directed by Kinka Usher
• music by Stephen Warbeck
• Cast: Hank Azaria (Blue Raja), Janeane Garofalo (The Bowler), William H. Macy (The Shoveler), Kel Mitchell (Invisible Boy), Paul Reubens (The Spleen), Ben Stiller (Mr. Furious), Wes Studi (The Sphinx), Greg Kinnear (Captain Amazing), Lena Olin (Dr. Annabel Lee), Geoffrey Rush (Casanova Frankenstein), Tom Waits (Doc Heller), Eddie Izzard (Tony P.), Claire Forlani (Monica), Ricky Jay (Vic Weems), Louise Lasser (Violet), Artie Lange (Big Red), Lucas Meyers (Citizen Kane), Stacey Travis (Wonder Woman), Dawn Marie Warnock (Dead Woman's Daughter), Jody Watley (Disco Girl)