The Sidekick stars Rob Benedict, Jason Ritter, Lizzy Caplan, Jordan Peele, Martin Starr, Josh Meyers and Richard Speight Jr. in a comedy that is “an offbeat take on the superhero genre and an allegory about the struggle to find your purpose in life even as you are being…repurposed.”
Here’s the trailer:
The Sidekick was screened at Comic Con San Diego and to a packed house that I ,sadly, missed. I was looking forward to it, mainly because I’m acquainted with Jason Ritter, and from my interviews with him at The Night Of 100 Stars Oscar Party, like this one:
But Back To Sidekick
According to the press release, Sidekick is a kind of different take on the vigilante “superhero” flicks, like Kick-Ass, even though it doesn’t mention that movie by name.
Here’s the press release:
“The Sidekick,” a new short from director Michael J. Weithorn (“The King of Queens”, A Little Help) and writer/star Rob Benedict (“Supernatural”, Waiting…), will make its world premiere at this year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego on Thursday, July 18th from 3:00PM – 4:00PM in the Indigo Ballroom of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
Weithorn and Benedict will be joined by fellow cast members and Comic-Con regulars: Josh Meyers (Behind the Candelabra), Jordan Peele (Key & Peele), Martin Starr (This Is The End), Richard Speight Jr. (Band of Brothers) and cinematographer Steve Lubensky (Series 7).
“The Sidekick” tells the story of 40-year-old career sidekick, Max McCabe (Benedict), now past his prime in the fast-paced world of superhero-dom. When he is unceremoniously fired by his boss, Captain Wonder, Max has no choice but to somehow find a place for himself in the regular world.
“We knew that Comic-Con had to be our first stop; it is ground zero for the smart and passionate genre fans we had in mind when we created this short film,” said Rob Benedict, star and co-creator of “The Sidekick.” “Also, we already own all these great tights, capes and masks, so it’ll be easy to get dressed.”
“I’ve been in the comedy field for over thirty years, and this is definitely one of my very favorite projects,” said Michael Weithorn, director of “The Sidekick.” “I’m optimistic that the Comic-Con faithful will dig it, and after our premiere in San Diego we’re going to look at adapting it as a cable half-hour or perhaps in a digital format. There are a lot more stories to be told with this character.”