Superhero Movie however was not produced from the minds of Friedberg and Seltzer, but Craig Mazin (American Indian translation: Craig Corn), who cut his teeth on the later Scary Movie films, not to mention the Harland-Williams-farts-in-a-spacesuit vehicle Rocket Man. What differentiates Superhero Movie from the Fried/Seltz mentality is that Mazin, though probably following the Spider-Man blueprints a little too closely, refuses to carbon copy. The fact that Mazin actually wants to create fully functional superhero lore to his fucking spoof movie is almost bizarre, and certainly makes the film infinitely more likeable than its counterparts.

Does that make the film a successful comedy? Christ, no. But there are some hysterical moments, mostly provided by an overqualified supporting cast including Leslie Nielsen (screw you, I still think he’s funny), Christopher McDonald, Keith David, Jeffrey Tambor Tracy Morgan, and even Airplane! Album Robert Hays makes a special guest appearance. Let’s not forget that both Pamela Anderson and Simon Rex make an appearance, both having been in hardcore porno videos, for those keeping score – I know I am.

The biggest blunder? Drake Bell as Rick Riker. While I commend this young man for being game for every stupid gag, every opportunity to mug like Charlie Callas, Bell has a natural ability to look as unappealing as one can imagine with just the movement of his mouth alone. God bless him for trying, but every exaggerated grimace rings like a death toll for me – I swear, every time Drake Bell would frown in his ape-like fashion, I could see, out of the corner of my eye, the image of Death checking his watch. Is this what girls of today are into, because I don’t get it. Now, cast Paul Rudd in this and you’ve got something, but alas, it was simply not made to be.

Presentation
The Weinstein Company puts forth a splendid disc for a film that doesn’t necessarily require the deluxe treatment. The video is strong, clean and free of defect while the audio, even though it’s still just a slapped together comedy film, benefits from the overactive score – could be an entirely new soundtrack from James L. Venable, could be a temp soundtrack pulled from Batman, excluding "Batdance," I don’t know. But what I do know is that you will be blown away by the non-descriptness of this DVD feature.

Like me, the audio and video presentation will leave you speechless because there’s nothing to be said on the subject.

Extras
Forget just about everything contained in this disc – the deleted scenes, alternate ending, theatrical trailer and the two minidocufeaturettes Meet the Cast and The Art of Spoofing, it’s all pretty much disposable – however, the commentary track while managing not to step on a few specific sets of toes, ranges from passive-aggressive towards outright (though always giddy) revulsion and shame in regards to studio meddling. If it makes you feel better, director Craig Mazin, and producers David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss hate scene-by-scene parodies and pop culture riffs as much as you do, you stuck-up asshole. Quotes like "Keep listening to the commentary, you might hear a gunshot and a body hit the floor" ring depressingly true, making the commentary a worthy listen – probably moreso for people who hated the film.

There are also a few previews at the front of the disc for The Hammer, The Nanny Diaries, and I Could Never Be Your Woman.

Overall
It might not be original, or creative, or impressive, well-acted, well written, well directed or well put together overall, Superhero Movie benefits from not hurting. While it does strive to differentiate itself from the current slate of parodies, Superhero Movie is still a little too much Meet the Spartans and not enough Wet Hot American Summer. I’ll be the first to admit it made me laugh far more than I thought it would, and the commentary made me like the film a touch more, but that really doesn’t amount to much in the long run – it’s comparable to being ankle-deep in sewage, but at least having shoes and socks on to protect your feet.