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Special (2008)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:16

Rotten:13

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: This quirky indie comedy's low budget is readily apparent, but it's elevated by Michael Rapaport's dedicated performance.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some violence and brief drug use.

Runtime: 82 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 21, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: Les Franken (MICHAEL RAPAPORT) 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,... Les Franken (MICHAEL RAPAPORT) 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. --© Magnolia Pictures [More]

Starring: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker

Starring: Michael Rapaport, Paul Blackthorne, Josh Peck, Robert Baker, Jack Kehler, Alexandra Holden, Ian Bohen, Christopher Darga

Director: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore

Director: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore
Screenwriter: Hal Haberman, Jeremy Passmore
Producer: Edward Parks, Frank Mele
Composer: Tom Wolfe, Manish Raval
Studio: Magnolia Pictures

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Release:

Mar 31, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Les Franken (MICHAEL RAPAPORT) 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. As he begins to take the drugs, an unexpected
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Special

    • T-Meter Critics
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    1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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    I just thought it was a cool indie film with a great leading performance from an actor we don’t usually get to see in a lead.

    Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
    11/24/08
    Ben Lyons
    Ben Lyons
    At the Movies

    The premise is intriguing, and the film is occasionally amusing, but it feels stuck between a completely satirical farce and an aching drama.

    Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
    11/24/08
    Ben Mankiewicz
    Ben Mankiewicz
    At the Movies

    Its ambitions are limited -- though at 81 minutes, wisely proportioned -- but its heart is in the right place.

    Full Review Source: AV Club | comment Comment
    11/20/08
    Scott Tobias
    Scott Tobias
    AV Club

    With the often uproarious and always poignant comedy Special, co-screenwriters and directors Jeremy Passmore and Hal Haberman have created a moving and pertinent parable for our medicated times.

    Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
    01/26/06
    Ray Greene
    Ray Greene
    Boxoffice Magazine

    A good narrative feature with elements of comedy and drama, giving character actor Michael Rapaport a chance to really shine in a complex lead role.

    Full Review Source: Cinematical | comment Comment
    01/24/07
    Jette Kernion
    Jette Kernion
    Cinematical

    Eccentric, depressing thriller won't grab teens' attention.

    Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | comment Comment
    01/27/09
    S. Jhoanna Robledo
    S. Jhoanna Robledo
    Common Sense Media

    Those who call themselves fans of the Rapaport are in for a huge treat, because the veteran character actor delivers one of the strongest performances of his career.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    01/30/06
    Scott Weinberg
    Scott Weinberg
    eFilmCritic.com

    Genuinely original in parts but this works as a comedy only in places.

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    03/07/07
    Kat Brown
    Kat Brown
    Empire Magazine

    Thanks to Rapaport's brio in embracing the hero's drug-induced delusions, the movie is less a failure than a noble experiment gone awry.

    Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
    11/20/08
    Adam Markovitz
    Adam Markovitz
    Entertainment Weekly

    The sight of him, bloodied but eternally unbowed, in his ridiculous, homemade superhero costume may indeed be totally iconic for true pulp believers.

    Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    David Noh
    David Noh
    Film Journal International

    It's a tonally uncertain, unsatisfying muddle.

    Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
    11/18/06
    Peter Bradshaw
    Peter Bradshaw
    Guardian [UK]

    Take[s] a page from the cartoonist Bill Watterson, who noted of the tiger protagonist in his great Calvin & Hobbes, 'The nature of [the character's] reality doesn't interest me, and each story goes out of its way to avoid resolving the issue.'

    Full Review Source: House Next Door | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Keith Uhlich
    Keith Uhlich
    House Next Door

    Shot for pennies -- a cash limitation that benefits the production's creativity and credibility -- this haunting film keeps shifting the ground under our feet

    Full Review Source: I.E. Weekly | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Amy Nicholson
    Amy Nicholson
    I.E. Weekly

    Special works as an honest portrait of little people with big dreams even if it remains itself a little movie without a big impact.

    Full Review Source: IGN Movies | comment Comment
    11/26/08
    Todd Gilchrist
    Todd Gilchrist
    IGN Movies

    What begins as a mildly amusing indie lark descends into a depressingly unappealing exercise in mico-budget filmmaking.

    Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Geoff Berkshire
    Geoff Berkshire
    Metromix.com

    It may not be perfect, but this under-the-radar indie from Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore is smart enough to leave you glad you found it.

    Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Elizabeth Weitzman
    Elizabeth Weitzman
    New York Daily News

    Rappaport does a yeoman's job in this tonally confused oddity.

    Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Lou Lumenick
    Lou Lumenick
    New York Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A great genre film dissects authentic problems without attempting to supplant them. Reasonably enough, Special belongs to that category with the rest of Magnet’s Six Shooter Series.

    Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
    11/20/08
    Eric Kohn
    Eric Kohn
    New York Press

    Ultimately it adds little to our understanding of the curious return of the superhero as our paradigmatic pop archetype.

    comment Comment
    11/21/08
    Nathan Lee
    Nathan Lee
    New York Times

    Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again.

    Full Review Source: NewsBlaze | comment Comment
    11/14/08
    Prairie Miller
    Prairie Miller
    NewsBlaze
     
     
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    Latest News for Special

    November 27, 2008: Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again. Opens in new window
    More...

    November 14, 2008: Prankster moviemaking about a superhero duel with p-harm-aceutical barons, certain to make the deadly warnings whispered in all those gleeful drug commercials flooding TV sets across America, to never sound quite the same again. Opens in new window
    More...

    November 03, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
    More...

    January 26, 2006: SUNDANCE: Weinberg's Sundance Scorecard
    With Senh, Jen, and Terrible Tim Ryan roaming the streets of Park City, the Tomato readers have had plenty of Sundance reports to pick through. But I thought I'd contribute my... More...

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