Les Franken is a kind-hearted and soft-spoken man who loves reading comic books. He's the type of guy who most people walk by on the street without even noticing; in essence, he's completely average and virtually invisible. However, everything changes for Les the day he is accepted into an experimental drug study for a new and .. Read more
| Starring | Michael Rapaport |
|---|---|
| Director | Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore |
| Genres | Drama |
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Les Franken is a kind-hearted and soft-spoken man who loves reading comic books. He's the type of guy who most people walk by on the street without even noticing; in essence, he's completely average and virtually invisible. However, everything changes for Les the day he is accepted into an experimental drug study for a new and exciting anti-depressant, Specioprin Hydrochloride. As Les begins to take the drugs an unexpected side effect occurs--he begins to develop special powers: the ability to levitate, to read peoples' minds, and even walk through walls. Faced with the dilemma of how best to utilize his new "powers," the answer seems obvious to Les. He puts together a homemade superhero suit and hits the streets to fight crime and protect the world from the forces of evil. Surveillance video soon exposes Les and his actions to the public via television news and therefore brings him to the attention of the businessmen developing the drug. Worried about the bad publicity Les is bringing to their new anti-depressant, they attempt to put an end to his superhero antics before too much damage is done. However, in typical comic book fashion, Les sees the men from the drug company as his evil arch nemeses--"The Suits"--men who want him to join them in their evil plan to use 'Special' to create an army of unstoppable assassins. Les refuses to play ball.
| Starring | Michael Rapaport |
|---|---|
| Director | Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore |
| Studio | REVOLVER ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 18 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 05 Mar 2006 Production year: 2006 |
| Format | DVD |
An unsatisfying addition to the genre-based existential crisis territory marked out by the likes of Memento,... read more on Time Out
You might be most familiar with Michael Rapaport from his irritating sitcom The War At Home, in which he plays an unlikeable father. Please forget about all of that for the benefit of Special, a really nice film in which he plays a thoroughly likeable parking attendant who loses his mind. His descent into delusion is heartbreaking and deeply affecting, all thanks to Rapaport's excellent performance. Michael, I am sorry I judged you based on one rubbish sitcom. Plus the film's only short, so even if you hate it you've only lost an hour and a bit, and you probably would have wasted it anyway.
I saw a good review from Johnathan Ross and really wanted to see the film. I was not disappointed. A very affectionate look at a very downtrodden person who is given the confidence to be a superhero. As he is such a sympathetic character when things go wrong, its so hard not to feel very sad - it does end abruptly but I think its the right one.