Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me 4 Stars (Out of 4) Reviewed by Mac Verstandig on June 9, 1999 http://www.moviereviews.org critic@moviereviews.org Release date in USA - June 11, 1999
Hilarious, entertaining, sexy and perhaps even shagadellic, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is the type of fall-out-of-your-seat-laughing comedy that only comes around on the rarest of occasions. With acting so uproariously funny, and a script that delivers punch line after punch line at a pace so rapid that you miss most of the movie while trying to stop laughing, Austin Powers is the comic convention of 1999.
A sequel in the truest of ways, the latest adventures of Austin Powers follow those of his in the 1997 hit, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Dr. Evil (Mike Myers in one of three boisterously entertaining performances in this film) is back on earth in 1999 despite his previous venture into space at the conclusion of the 1997 movie, and more evil than ever. He plans on taking over the earth and ridding it of his enemy, Austin Powers (Mike Myers). In order to do this he must travel from his new space headquarters, a Starbucks shop, in 1999 back to 1969 and steal Austin Powers' mojo. Considering this seems to be a movie spoofing Star Wars heavily, it is assumed that this mojo is the equivalent of the "the force" and can be easily withdrawn from a frozen body. Understanding that leads to the obvious point that a total and utter suspension of reality is essential.
Dr. Evil has yet another problem to deal with, as his son, Scott Evil (Seth Green), is upset with him for doing what he does. This leads to a wonderful spoof on the times, as the two meet again on the Jerry Springer Show. Just infuriating Scott further, Dr. Evil has been cloned as well. The result is what he refers to as Mini-me, an exact replica, but only 1/8 his size. To Dr. Evil the clone is like the son he always wanted and never had. After all, as the first movie showed, there is nothing like a good father son conflict to bring laughs to the screen. This is an absolute truth as the characters continuously try to out-hip each other, while Dr. Evil complains that Scott is only "The Diet Coke of Evil."
When you have a spy as sexy as Austin Powers himself, the women naturally follow. In this installment, we meet Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), Ivana Humpalot (Kristen Johnson of TV's 3rd Rock from the Sun), Robin Swallows (Gia Carides) and a few other shagable young women. The basic plot outline of their roles is that all of them are working for Dr. Evil, save Felicity who is a secret agent.
Additionally, this production is full of cameos from some most notable names. Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Tim Robbins and Jerry Springer all poke into the film at some point, with most of them just delivering one of the countless penis jokes as themselves. Mike Myers also takes on a third role, of a more cameo like nature.
What really brings the humor to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me are the spoofs on every day things that people can relate to, and classic movies that have always begged to be lampooned in this fashion. Even the trailers for this film suggested that "If you can only see one movie this summer, see85Star Wars: Episode One" as the film immediately = adapts to being released in the wake of the sure hit from Lucas. So the solution chosen was to tease the force to nth degree, even beginning this film with yellow text scrolling up the screen, with an outer-space background. Additionally, there are the obvious connections to James Bond which would be the central focus of the film if it was a plot concentrated work instead of a witty collection of humor. And just to top it off there is a moment just slightly modified from John Watters' cult classic, Pink Flamingos, involving the consumption of human waist.
Mike Myers may well be doing these movies because his talent is limited elsewhere. Despite moderate success as Wayne in Wayne's World, and an award worthy performance in 54, the actor has been wise enough to limit his work after the 1993 flop, So I Married An Axe Murderer. Regardless, he is perfect for these roles probably due in large part to his writing credit on the film as well. Heather Graham is the ideal counterpart to Myers, bringing the presence of an actress capable of delivering the jokes and body humor just as well as anyone else, with a sexual appeal that makes her the Bond Girl of Austin Powers. This is never better shown than a scene which pits her in bed with an obese character simply known as Fat Bastard (Myers' third role). The two of them light up the screen and make an otherwise totally disgusting, uncalled-for scene into a funny and just mildly nauseating one that sticks with you for a long time.
Mike Myers has created a comic gem. Spoofing everything in sight, holding nothing back, and running monologues of nothing but penis humor, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is the year's most refreshing comedy. Further enlightened by great character acting and distinguished cameos, the film will make you hope for and anticipate a future installment. Needless to say, this certainly isn't the Diet Coke of movies.
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