History Trivia / MysteryMen

* DeletedRole: Luis Guzmán played the part of a Mexican restaurant owner but his scenes were deleted from the final print.

* BreakawayPopHit: "All Star" by Music/SmashMouth was one of the most popular songs of 1999 and appeared on the ''Mystery Men'' film and soundtrack months before the release of their album ''Astro Lounge''. Its high-concept video features all the main cast members of ''Mystery Men''...who were then later cut out after the song far eclipsed the movie in popularity. "All Star"'s subsequent appearance in dozens of movies in the next few years only muddied the waters of its original origin. To rub salt on the wound, "All Star" has gained notoriety as an internet [[MemeticMutation meme]]...but videos featuring the song tend to attribute it to ''WesternAnimation/{{Shrek}}'', a (albeit, far more successful) film that premiered two years ''after'' "All-Star".

* FakeNationality:
* The Blue Raja, but it's part of his schtick. Also, Casanova is meant to come from a country that doesn't exist. He has a bit of German and Russian in his accent, while Geoffrey Rush himself is Australian.

* FakeNationality: The Blue Raja, but it's part of his schtick. Also, Casanova is meant to come from a country that doesn't exist. He has a bit of German and Russian in his accent.

* NamesTheSame: Alton Brown, on an episode of ''Series/GoodEats'' devoted to waffles, also portrayed a character called "The Waffler."

* AwesomeDearBoy: Creator/JaneaneGarofalo had originally turned down the the part of The Bowler, but changed her mind when she heard Creator/WilliamHMacy and Creator/GeoffreyRush had signed on.

** Azaria revealed in a 2011 interview with ''Website/TheAVClub'' that during production Kinka Usher declared:

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Prior to the film, Creator/JaneaneGarofalo had no bowling experience. Funnily enough, her parents met at a bowling alley.

* OldShame:
** Creator/ArtieLange, who has joked about the poor reception of films he's acted in, considers this to be the worst movie he has made. After seeing his brief scene in the beginning of the film, his mother and sister called him from the theater to ask if he would have any more scenes because they wanted to leave.
** Creator/JaneaneGarofalo doesn't care for the film.
-->It was very long hours and very little got accomplished. It was one of those alleged blockbusters that was overbudgeted and overhyped. It went from being a great script when it was sent to me, to being-in my opinion-a fairly mediocre non-event. But it was nice to get paid that much to sit around. I have no idea what they were trying to do (with the film), but they sure didn't accomplish it.
** Director Kinka Usher hated working on this film so much he vowed never to direct another feature and has stuck to commercials and music videos.

* PopCultureUrbanLegends: There are some fans who believe that the film was originally intended to be directed by Creator/TimBurton, that he was fired or left due to Main/ExecutiveMeddling, that Kinka Usher was either a replacement hired by the studio or an Main/AlanSmithee style pseudonym, and that Music/TomWaits let it slip in an interview that Burton was the real director. In reality, the writer of the Tom Waits biography ''Lowside of the Road'' was fooled by [[http://gettingit.com/article/349 a spoof article from 1999]] that said that "Kinka Usher" was a pseudonym, and edited a quote from Waits to replace Usher's name with Burton's. (The real Kinka Usher is aware of this rumor, [[https://twitter.com/KinkaUsher/status/824860714548424704 and he's not happy about it]])

** Azaria revealed in a 2011 interview with Websites/TheAVClub that during production Kinka Usher declared

** Casanova's long fingernails were Claire Forlani's idea.
* AllStarCast: Creator/BenStiller, Creator/WilliamHMacy, Creator/GregKinnear, Creator/GeoffreyRush, Creator/PaulReubens, Creator/HankAzaria, Creator/JaneaneGarofalo, Creator/KelMitchell, Creator/EddieIzzard, Music/TomWaits... maybe this is why the title of the song Music/SmashMouth made accompanying the film is "All Star."

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Aside from some time period specific jokes and references, as well as its overall aesthetic, [[https://www.avclub.com/mystery-men-clumsily-spoofed-superhero-movies-before-th-1827101621 this retrospective piece on the movie]] points out that the film came out at a time when superhero movies were still generally considered campy and something only for the fanboys and the genre was still shakily trying to figure itself out, with more missteps than actual hits, a ''very'' far cry from how superhero movies would become massive pop culture juggernauts a decade later by striking the right balance between fun and serious.
-->''If Mystery Men has value today, it’s as a time capsule, for a period when expensive movies had no idea what to do with funny people and when satirical superhero movies didn’t really have much to satirize. ''

** Creator/BenStiller revealed in an interview with Creator/DavidLetterman that he and Creator/GregKinnear got into a heated argument on the set. Afterwards, Stiller tried to be released from the film.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Aside from some time period specific jokes and references, as well as its overall aesthetic, [[https://www.avclub.com/mystery-men-clumsily-spoofed-superhero-movies-before-th-1827101621 this retrospective piece on the movie]] points out that the film came out at a time when superhero movies were still generally considered campy and something only for the fanboys and the genre was still shakily trying to figure itself out, with more missteps than actual hits, a ''very'' far cry from how superhero movies would later become massive pop culture juggernauts a decade later by striking the right balance between fun and serious.

** Music/TomWaits had trouble memorizing his lines during his big monologue so he wrote them on his hands, which explains his odd stance and gestures. Fortunately the director thought this was perfect for his character.