Summary

• The Specials, James Gunn’s first superhero film, lacked action but impacted his relationships in Hollywood.
• Audio commentary tracks reveal behind-the-scenes drama, including actor backlash and Gunn’s guilt.
• Despite mixed feelings among the cast and compromises made, The Specials remains a unique superhero film.

These days, James Gunn is known as the director and writer behind Warner Brothers Pictures’ upcoming Superman movie. Before that, he was most known for being the new co-chairman and co-CEO of DC Studios. Rewind some more, and comic book fans fawned over the man for his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. While Gunn is most often celebrated for these accomplishments, one superhero-related project – specifically, his very first one – holds the opposite feeling, at least among the cast members.

Even with some popular names of the time starring in this caped comedy, like Rob Lowe, Jamie Kennedy, and Paget Brewster, The Specials is certainly an odd project on James Gunn’s writing resume. Filmed in only 18 days, it’s a superhero movie without fight scenes. The most out-of-this-world setting is a catering hall. Any tension comes from the interactions between the “heroes,” not from your stereotypical villains. Most importantly, the making of this movie almost destroyed the many connections a young James Gunn once had in Hollywood.

A Commentary Track on The Specials DVD Tells All

To celebrate The Special's 20th anniversary, Mindfire Entertainment and Brillstein-Grey Entertainment (the original production companies) released the movie once again on Blu-ray. Even though this edition is quite pricey and hard to find, it is most certainly sought after due to the entertaining dual audio commentary tracks. While it’s great fun to see Kennedy dolled up in blue paint being all gruff and obscene while Sean Gunn strolls about as an incompetent alien who likes to perform dance numbers (yes, this actually takes place), his brother James Gunn and Brewster are equally captivating when talking about what was taking place behind the scenes before, during and after the filming of The Specials.

While their overarching conversation seems to be at times snarky and jabby, Mrs. Brewster has publicly gone on record since then saying that she is proud of everything contained within this now obscure title in James Gunn’s legacy. This may not be the case for everyone else involved, though (including her own past self).

As aforementioned, actor Jamie Kennedy played Amok in the film – a villain turned hero who can manipulate antimatter and is obsessed with the opposite sex. He is a part of The Specials super-team but pretty much insults anybody the moment he has a chance to. According to Gunn, he was a life-send as Kennedy’s agent was the one who took him on as a client. Even though The Specials was released successfully, The Guardians of the Galaxy director admits that he and the former Scream actor butted heads non-stop during production. At one point, Kennedy threw a piece of outdoor patio furniture at Gunn outside an Astro Burger in LA.

The Specials Led to So Much Actor Backlash

The blue paint needed for Amok was interfering with another one of Kennedy’s films at the time – 1999’s Three Kings – and the filmmakers of that movie were getting a little heated with the visible makeup residue. According to Gunn, they are still friends, though, so all is well in that department. Kennedy is only the first.

Another name who played a part in The Specials (another member of the team) was actor Rob Lowe, who played The Weevil. Unlike Kennedy, he remained dissatisfied even after the film’s completion. Even though the Parks and Recreation alum has a major character arc in the film, Lowe was remembered as not wanting anything to do with the press for the movie. Brewster even surmises that as soon as Lowe found out that the pilot for CBS's The West Wing was a go-ahead, he created a tremendous distance between himself and anything The Specials was connected to.

Even though he evidently ghosted once the film was released and rarely heard from again, Gunn and Brewster both admit that he taught them camera techniques that they won’t forget – like white eyeliner on the inside of the eye to make them look bigger and naming extras to the celebrities they look like in order to remember them later. The tally only continues, though, with unfavorable opinions. Even Brewster – who was Ms. Indestructible, a woman who can withstand a nuclear blast – comments about the film’s lingering shadow. Yes, she does say that she remembers the film fondly now, but the commentary track reveals something else.

Even Gunn Feels Guilty About The Specials

After Gunn exclaims that this sitcom-style superhero comedy helped him get every bit of Hollywood work since, Brewster replies to this comment with the opposite. She states that being cast in The Specials didn’t elevate her reputation at all regarding her future roles. While she did go on to find an acting legacy in CBS’ Criminal Minds (from 2006 to present), film-wise, she is correct. Following The Specials, she has had voice roles in animated movies, short film appearances, and box office bombs. It seems like being a superhero didn’t do her any favors. Surprisingly, James Gunn himself has solidified these claims over the years.

In a 2011 interview with Destroy the Brain, he laments how disappointed everybody was regarding the final results of The Specials. While saying that the cast’s vision didn’t ultimately align with the directors’, he explicitly includes names like himself, his brother, Lowe, and Thomas Hayden Church (who plays The Strobe). Back on the commentary track, he says how he hasn’t kept in touch with many people from The Specials, even saying that Brewster, at one point, dumped him as a friend.

Gunn says that his springing momentum into films like 2002’s Scooby-Doo reminds him of The Weevil’s decision to leave The Specials to join a more prestigious (and obnoxious) team called The Crusaders. It’s apparent that the movie’s lingering negativity has had the same effect on the writer himself. But this shouldn’t stop you from seeing The Specials, as this comedy is certainly a great success in its own right as it shows audiences what superheroes get up to in their downtime. The Specials can be bought on DVD on Amazon.