Stretch Armstrong Movie Set for April 2011

While slightly less appalling than movies based on Bazooka Joe and Where's Waldo?, I still don't think a Stretch Armstrong movie is the best idea anybody's ever had. And, much to my surprise, it's an idea hatched at the same studio bringing us Waldo. So what is Universal up to, exactly? Brian Grazer, who has been behind a lot of great ideas (though his hair is not one of them) told IESB, "Stretch Armstrong is a character I have wanted to see on screen for a long time. He's an unconventional kind of super hero with a power that no one would want." Admittedly, that is a pretty good twist, pardon the pun. I'd never thought that of all the superpowers, elasticity might not be high on the list. Grazer adds, "It's a story about a guy stretching - if you will - the limits of what is possible to become all that he can be." So that sounds like an underdog story, and that's a better riff on the old Hasbro toy than I would have guessed. There is still a visual effects problem, because the lamest part of two lame Fantastic Four movies was Mr. Fantastic's ability, but maybe it could work if they do put some limitations on what he can do and make Stretch an unwitting hero. Steve Oedekerk is writing the screenplay for Grazer, but there's no director yet. In a continuation of a disturbing trend, however, there is a release date - April 15, 2011 - which is kind of like setting the opening day for a football stadium before meeting with architects. Speaking of architecture: Corn syrup and latex skin. That's what made him stretch and return to his original 'roid-freak form.