There’s something rather charming about incredibly rubbish superheroes. Perhaps it’s their makeshift nature or their general lack of style, but misfits always seem to have a place in the hearts of comic book fans. Maybe it’s that we can relate to everyday folk a bit more than we can to gods and super athletes, or maybe it’s because incompetence can be funny.
Spaghettiman is a rather silly and sort of sweet movie about an idiot called Clark (Ben Crutcher). Barely able to look after himself, the only Olympic medal Clark is ever going to win is in being a slob. Unable to hold down even the simplest of jobs, Clark relies on the kindness of his friends to survive and spends most of him time sleeping. That is until a freak accident with a bowl of spaghetti and a faulty microwave turns him into Spaghettiman; a man with the power to spontaneously manifest long strings of pasta and hurl balls of wet spaghetti at people. Of course, he has a costume, but one made out of the contents of a rubbish bin.
Rather than immediately taking to the streets to fight crime, Clark instead tries to work out how he can use his pasta-based powers to make money. Luckily for us, he doesn’t take the obvious and simpler paths, and instead tries to become a hero. Kind of. Clark is a jerk, much to the dismay of his housemate Dale (Winston Carter). This set-up allows for a bunch of rather well placed gags. The jokes are all one note, but that’s fine; it’s not a complicated sort of film.
As you might expect, the movie itself is a pretty low budget affair, and this adds quite a lot to the movie. The acting is just good enough for you to take the whole thing seriously. Which is neat, because this is a gloriously daft film. It isn’t sleek, or clever, or special. Much like the movie’s main protagonist, Spaghettiman is a little bit rubbish, but in all the right ways. A bigger budget wouldn’t work; it’s great the way it is. Which makes sense when you think about it; spaghetti goes well with cheese, after all.
This is a perfect beer and pretzels movie (or pasta and meatballs, if you prefer), and a great way to clear the pallet after watching the likes of Man of Steel or Suicide Squad. DC could learn a lot from the anarchic wackiness of Spaghettiman. Superheroes have been made fun again, thanks to Spaghettiman.
SPAGHETTIMAN / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR: MARK POTTS / SCREENPLAY: WINSTON CARTER, BEN CRUTCHER, MARK POTTS, BRAND RACKLEY / STARRING: BEN CRUTCHER, WINSTON CARTER, BRAND RACKLEY, JOE LOCICERO, KEVIN M. BRENNAN / RELEASE DATE: VOD OUT NOW
