Some people just can’t leave well enough alone.Handed the reins of “Mystery Men,” his first feature film, director Kinka Usher is given a promising premise, a fantastic cast and proceeds to turn what should have been an excellent ensemble comedy into an over-directed final film school project.Usher, whose previous credits include commercials for Taco Bell (he’s responsible, good or bad, for the talking chihuahua ads) and Mountain Dew, applies a hyper style to a movie that should instead be relying on the comedic skills of its cast. No camera trick goes unused. No gimmicky lens or angle is left out. No scene goes un-Ushered.Yet despite his incessant meddling, “Mystery Men” succeeds.The story follows a group of second-string super heroes who toil in the shadow of Captain Amazing (Greg Kinnear) in Champion City. The captain faces a problem, however, when his effective crime-fighting results in a city essentially void of crime, puting his many sponsorships in jeopardy (his suit is adorned with more corporate logos than Jeff Gordon`s). Amazing decides to aid in the parole of his old arch-nemesis Casanova Frankenstein (Geoffrey Rush), only to be immediately captured.Enter the back-ups. The group is led by Mr. Furious (Ben Stiller), whose super-power is an allegedly uncontrollable rage. His partners in crime-stopping include The Shoveler (William H. Macy), a man who feels compelled to fight crime because he’s the best shoveler the world has ever seen, and The Blue Raja (Hank Azaria) a faux Englishman from colonial India adept at throwing silverware, (excepting knives,) which he feels is cliche.To rescue Amazing the group enlists the help of fellow misfit superheroes The Bowler (Jeneane Garofalo as a woman who hurls a ball containing the skull and spirit of her murdered father), Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell as a boy whose invisibility only works when no one is looking), The Spleen (Paul Ruebens, who was cursed by a gypsy woman to forever have ultra-powerful flatulence) and, The Sphinx (Wes Studi as the groups new mystical leader). Aided by a pacifist weapons designer (Tom Waits) the group launches an assault on Frankenstein’s lair in a last-hour attempt to save the city from his diabolical plans.The plot takes a backseat to the premise and cast, which is for the best because the premise is good and the cast is better. Stiller and Garofalo provide the best moments, specifically when Stiller’s Mr. Furious begins to doubt if anger is indeed a super-power, and Garofalo’s constant bickering with her bowling ball/father. Macy is perfectly cast as the blue-collar Shoveler, and Azaria’s fancy-lad accent is hilarious. Ruebens is wasted as a character that is, literally, a human fart joke.The only casting problems lie with Rush as the villain. His uninspired performance could easily have been remedied by inserting the infinitely more interesting Waits in the villain role.Again, any blame for the movie’s short comings should go to Usher. The film is about 20 minutes too long, a problem that could have been remedied by removing any number of gratuitous shots. The editing is paced for a speed freak. Simple head shots are turned into super-wide, low-angle visual experiences. His commercial background shows in every scene. Usher’s act gets tired pretty fast.The film is based on a comic book, a la Batman, and may inspire a sequel if it’s successful. In the case of the Batman series the direction went south with the departure of Tim Burton. “Mystery Men” could only benefit from such a defection.