DVD Review: Real Heroes

Real Heroes is a cute comedy about some lesser-known superheroes taking part in a “reality” television show in order to boost their images. It opens, of course, with the audition sequence, which offers the opportunity for lots of silliness with rejected heroes. Some of this is rather stupid, but the man hitting the rejected applicants with a large stick had me laughing. Sable’s audition is particularly good, because she fights back when the guy with the stick attacks her, and kicks his ass. That makes the producers re-think Sable’s rejection. As the assistant points out, “It would great if we had someone on the show who could actually fight.”

And soon the show is cast. One of those superheroes that makes the cut is a hot Aquaman imitator (which is funny in itself; after all, Aquaman was definitely the weakest member of the Justice League, so why would anyone want to imitate him?). In addition to Water Warrior, there is also Big Shot, Malibu Action Girl, Sable, The Vixen (Sable’s unwilling daughter), and Psychic Sam. While I like the idea of the unwilling daughter being dragged into the show, I do wish they’d cast someone a bit younger to play Vixen. This woman seems old enough to be on her own and not have to rely on her mother. It just doesn’t work when she pouts or talks about doing homework, as they need someone who looks fourteen or fifteen to pull that off.

The style of the film is like that of those so-called “reality” shows, including interviews with the superheroes with their thoughts on what we’ve been seeing. And of course they all live together in a “secret” base, reminding us of shows like The Real World and Big Brother. Mixed in with the footage of our heroes are funny, but cool animated sequences that are narrated, bringing to mind television programs we grew up on, such as Super Friends. And these segments add a great deal of style to the film, and are a big part of what makes it effective. One of my favorite animated interruptions is when Malibu Action Girl asks two guys to help her move her stuff into the base. The film cuts to an animated sequence of her with an enormous stack of boxes, and the voice over tells us, “Malibu Action Girl comes with everything you see here,” a clever reference to the toy commercials of our youth.

There are some really funny moments and elements, like the super computer that lets Malibu Action Girl know what outfit is appropriate for any given set of circumstances. Also, I love when they go to a bar to pick up sidekicks. It cuts to Big Shot saying: “I hate these pickup situations. You never know what you’re getting into. I mean, some of the guys are heroes, and some of them are obviously sidekicks, but some of them look like they could go either way.” That’s just one of the many plays on sexuality in the film.

This film comes as a welcome change from those terrible, big-budget comic book superhero movies that have taken over Hollywood in recent years. (Hell, I’d love to see a movie where Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-man, all the X-Men and all the Avengers have to live in the same house and share a bathroom.) However, some of the movie falls flat. And there’s no real plot (at least not until the last twenty-five minutes or so), which is a shame. We sort of hear what Sable is doing (for a while she’s the only one actually following up on the clues provided by the show’s producer), and it sounds great, with Nazis and Hitler’s brain and all that, but we don’t see any of it. And while that is clearly part of the joke, part of the point, it also makes it difficult to sustain the engagement with the audience and maintain the audience’s interest. All of the real action is done in the short animated, narrated pieces.

Special Features

The DVD contains several bonus features. The Sidekick Mystique is eleven minutes’ worth of footage from the interviews with the sidekicks, who reveal that when they were younger they too were superheroes. It also includes a bit with the sidekicks hanging over a lava pit, waiting to be rescued.

The Water Warrior Workout has Water Warrior leading viewers in a superhero workout, and reminding people to “Stay away from giant robots and saturated fats.” This feature is approximately seven minutes.

Desperately Seeking Sidekick is eleven minutes of Big Shot’s personal ads for a sidekick.

Meet The Heroes! is fifteen minutes of interviews with cast members talking about their characters, as well as interviews with some key crew members. And Things We Did For Money is ten minutes of promotional material used to raise money for the film.

The special features also include the film’s trailer and an artwork slideshow.

Real Heroes was directed by Keith Hartman, and as released on DVD on October 2, 2014.