Spoon-Man

Superheroes have come to dominate the pop culture of the early 21st century, and it’s no surprise that many filmmakers have attempted to put their own spin on the genre. Farren Chahal’s Spoon-Man is a quirky comedy take on the conventions of typical superheroism, and the short is brimming with quintessentially British personality. It’s fair to say that the short also feels disposable, as it fails to set itself apart from other superhero comedies and pastiches of the last 20 years.

Most of Spoon-Man takes place in a single encounter, where a mugger (Aqil Ghani) has a man (Daniel Farrier) at gunpoint. Even before the eponymous hero shows up, the encounter is bizarre; there’s no question that the short will be leaning into absurdist humour. Chahal steps into frame as Spoon-Man (don’t forget the hyphen), dressed in a shoddy homemade costume, a spoon literally taped to his chest in a hilarious detail. Our Spooned hero engages in a back and forth with the mugger, and the comedy here is mostly solid. There’s a looseness in the dialogue that suggests some improvisation, which while charming, can make the scene feel like there’s not necessarily a destination in mind. The performances from Ghani and Chahal are likeable enough that the choppy dialogue can be forgiven, and their chemistry injects a lot of energy into what is a pretty static scene. It’s a shame that the short is so focused around this one scenario, and it would have been interesting to see a few more outings for Spoon-Man which are sadly only hinted at. Still, the short has a surprise in mind towards the end which is reasonably satisfying, and it reinvigorates Spoon-Man for a final extended punchline with an excellent theme song written and produced by Joseph Hooligan.

It’s hard to ignore that Spoon-Man is ultimately pretty shallow, and it’s not doing or saying much about superheroes that other parodies haven’t done or said. In Spoon-Man, there’s more than a passing resemblance to The Tick, from them both sharing bright blue costumes, to their shared penchant for spoons. Audiences might also notice similarities to 1999’s Mystery Men, particularly Hank Azaria’s character Blue Raja, who is also themed around throwing cutlery (though he is not limited to spoons). It can be difficult to stand apart in a landscape where superheroes have been parodied so much already, and there’s an argument to be had that a 7 minute long comedy short shouldn’t need to make a grand statement on the genre. However, there could have been some more comedy mined from the short’s already comedic use of violence, perhaps leaning in to particularly British sentiments. While guns are commonplace in superhero fiction, owing to the fact that they are largely based in the United States, there’s no shock or question concerning the gun in Spoon-Man, which visibly takes place in the midlands. Chahal may have wanted to keep larger statements away from his comedy, and that’s entirely reasonable and fair, but the result is a short that lacks some bite, one which fails to really satirize anything that The Boys hasn’t already.

It’s hard not to love Spoon-Man thanks in large part to the charming performances and mostly witty dialogue. While it may not aspire for greatness, the short manages to deliver some good laughs, without outstaying its welcome.