“SUPER” Nerd fantasy. 1 hour, 36 minutes. At the Mayan.
Underground rapper MC Frontalot has a track called “Indier Than Thou” that could apply to the new film “Super.” It’s like someone took a shopping list to the Indie Store: hip, nerdy indie stars (Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page). Check.
Hip, nerdy indie director/ writer (James Gunn, “Slither,” “Tromeo & Juliet”). Check.
Hip, nerdy indie premise (a middle-aged geek takes on a comic-book superhero persona to fight crime). Check.
Lots of anonymous, indie- ish rock on the soundtrack. Check.
The only thing missing is an appearance from Zooey Deschanel.
Too bad “Super’s” hipster credentials are the only things it has going for it. Alternately too goofy, too repellently violent, and then mawkishly sentimental, the would-be dark comedy never finds the right tone.
Wilson is Frank, the classic nonentity whose beautiful wife (Liv Tyler) leaves him for a drug-dealing dirtbag (Kevin Bacon). Tired of being put down, Frank becomes The Crimson Bolt, with the help of Libbie (Page), a clerk at a comic-book store. She is so enamored that she becomes his sidekick, Boltie.
His weapon is a monkey wrench that he wields for crimes big (child molester) and small (people who cut in line). All of this is supposed to be funny, and there are a couple of chuckles to be had, but it mostly just comes off as cruel and not particularly compelling.
If this sounds a bit like a more successful (but still woefully uneven) film from last year, you’re right. James Gunn, the creators of “Kick Ass” called, and they want their plot back.
