Nothing super about it

Similar to the ridiculously goofy movie spoofs that have been successful over the past few years (think “Scary Movie” installments 1-4, “Epic Movie,” etc.), “Superhero Movie” follows in the same footsteps and delivers over-the-top comedy that is at best, corny. In this latest chapter of spoofs, director and writer Craig Mazin takes on movies that deal with superheroes, incorporating parts of the “X-Men” movies, “Fantastic Four” and most noticeably, “Spider-Man.”

For the most part, the movie steals the “Spider-Man” movie script and adds in slapstick humor, along with a few noticeable celebrities (Leslie Nielsen and Pamela Anderson both have roles) and a plot that makes absolutely no sense. An example of this would be how the nerdy teen Rick Riker (Drake Bell) becomes the superhero Dragonfly after being stung by a genetically engineered dragonfly while on a field trip and has a predictably hard time coping with the added responsibility he gains as a superhero.

The intention is to be funny but the story line overdoes it and ironically makes the movie more annoying than funny. Although the movie should make us laugh, there is no balance between the parts that are meant to be funny and those that aren’t, because the movie attempts to make every second of the movie funny. How stupid does Bell’s character have to be, if he appears throughout the movie allowing himself to get punched, beat up or even causing unintentional harm to himself and those around him just for a cheap laugh.

The unbelievable situations occasionally go too far: People are oblivious to others having sex in the middle of the street. Even the slapstick goes overboard, when Rick Riker saves an old woman’s life from a truck only to push her in to a wood-shredder. Although the film is exaggerated, viewers can’t blame the movie for pushing the envelope, because movie spoofs have built their reputation on this. Unfortunately, the same thing that makes it a spoof makes it obnoxious.

Somehow, in the end it all blends well and one can hardly complain. “Superhero Movie” delivers what is expected of it: cheesy comedy and nothing more.