Magnet has had some great releases in the last six months but Special is something altogether different (see how I didn’t use the word” special” again?). The film stars Michael Rapaport in a role that definitely rivals his outstanding performance in Spike Lee’s Bamboozled. The basic premise here is that a regular joe wishes he were anything but regular. He volunteers to be a lab rat in a drug study and he finds that the pills give him amazing powers that he must use for good. As a comic enthusiast, he decides to become a crusader for justice but at every turn someone is trying to stop him. The police don’t believe that he has these super-powered gifts, his friends think he’s lost his mind, and the evil doctors are hot on his trail in an attempt to take away his gifts. I’m not going any deeper than that because this is a very fragile movie that must be watched intently to be truly understood.
Michael Rapaport simply shines in this film. In any other hands Special could certainly have fallen flat on its face. Every step of the way Rapaport delivers and you find that you love his charcter by the end, which is what makes this movie so incredibly sad. This is far from a date might movie but if you are looking for something that will stir your soul and challenge your perceptions then Special is what you are looking for. The DVD also includes outtakes and an HDNET featurette examining the film. Both are fairly unnecessary but the film itself is more than worth the price of the DVD.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
