# Movie about a guy who may or may not have powers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 18, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061 "2006-07-18T20:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/1 "2006-07-18T20:22:26Z")
I saw a trailer last year for a dramatic movie about a guy who thinks he has super powers. The part I remember most is he jumps off a table in his psychiatrist’s office and “lands” about 3 inches off the ground. Later in the trailer they show that seen from the doctor’s point of view and the guy is actually lying flat on the floor. Does anyone recall seeing an online trailer for this film and have some idea what the name of it might be? My IMDB and Google skills have failed me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/2 "2006-07-18T20:39:26Z")
I vaguely remember that trailer as well… Weird… I seem to recall it had a bigger name comedian in the role. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/3 "2006-07-18T20:41:20Z")
Phenomenon? I haven’t seen it, but I remember the trailers for it when I was young. I think it had someone like John Travolta. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/4 "2006-07-18T20:43:25Z")
It could also be K-Pax. That one had Kevin Spacey. I remember liking it. The issue was whether or not he was an alien with magical alien powers. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/5 "2006-07-18T20:44:07Z")
> [@Talon Karrde](#): > > Phenomenon? I haven’t seen it, but I remember the trailers for it when I was young. I think it had someone like John Travolta. _Phenomenon_ did star John Travolta, but I don’t remember the described scene in it. It doesn’t seem to fit into the plot either; Travolta’s character definitely did have powers (of a sort). Man, you make me feel old, by the way. My first instinct when I read your post was “_Phenomenon_ came out like five minutes ago! If you were young then, you’re still young!” but as it turns out, it was released ten years ago… ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/6 "2006-07-18T20:44:55Z")
…And since you saw the trailer last year, I guess it’s neither. :smack: Three pointless posts in a row. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/7 "2006-07-18T21:24:08Z")
My guess: [Special](http://imdb.com/title/tt0479162/). ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/8 "2006-07-18T21:29:44Z")
> [@Talon Karrde](#): > > Phenomenon? Do doo do doo do. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/9 "2006-07-18T21:41:33Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > Do doo do doo do. Every time you do this kind of thing I feel guilty about cursing your name while reading GD threads, dammit… ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2006, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/10 "2006-07-18T22:10:29Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > My guess: [Special](http://imdb.com/title/tt0479162/). That fits the description perfectly – I saw the trailer for it as well, and it looked great. It looks like it’s played at a festival or two; I wonder when/if it will get a little wider release. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-about-a-guy-who-may-or-may-not-have-powers/365061/11 "2006-07-19T13:29:06Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > My guess: [Special](http://imdb.com/title/tt0479162/). YES! That’s the one! Thank you, **pinkfreud**. Michael Rappaport. I knew the star was someone whose face I would remember but name would elude me. Can’t tell if it ever found a distributor or not, but I guess I’ll try to track it down till I go nuts. It seemed very interesting.