Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Rating (out of five): ** Starring Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, Will Farrell, Kristen Johnston and Elizabeth Hurley Directed by M. Jay Roach Written by Myers and Michael McCullers Rated PG-13 for sexual and, at times, very crude humor Theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 Released in 1999 Running 95 minutes
If only Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me had been just half as original, zany, silly and totally enjoyable as its predecessor, it would have easily been one of this summer's biggest pleasures. If only. In fact, The Spy Who Shagged Me is the exact opposite of the original; instead of refreshing the audience with one clever parody after another, the filmmakers bombard us with used-up, tired jokes taken directly from the first one.
Take the scene where Austin Powers (again played by Mike Myers, but with only a fraction of the giddy enthusiasm he displayed previously) confronts a henchmen on the side of a cliff. After being pushed off the ravine, the bad guy is of course assumed dead. But suddenly, we hear a pleading voice coming from down below; he's only injured. A similar scene played very well in the original International Man of Mystery, but here I was insulted by it. Did the filmmakers really believe the audience would laugh at a rip-off?
Apparently I overestimated the intelligence of the average movie-goer, considering that the film has pulled in over $200 million in domestic theatrical grosses alone. Do I hear the sound of a franchise heading our way?
Having said that, though, I still cannot deny the film its merits. The basic plot was delightfully silly enough to sustain my interest somewhat; Dr. Evil (Mike Myers, in the second of his three roles), having constructed a time machine, goes back to the year 1969 in an attempt to snatch Austin Power's "mojo" (don't you just love that word?) whilst he is cryogenically frozen. When Austin gets wind of this (after a great intro explaining the absence of Elizabeth Hurley's Vanessa Kensington) , he too travels back in time to re-claim his sexual drive, accompanied by the hot-to-trot Felicity Shagwell, played by Heather Graham. This sounds stupid, I know, but in the movie it starts to make some kind of weird, off-the-wall sense, and it worked for me.
Then there's Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), a... petite clone of Myer's Dr. Evil, exactly 1/8 in size. Troyer's persona alone gains the film an extra half-star, contributing to one particularly hilarious scene where he attempts to nibble on his own Mini-Mr. Bigglesworth. Just try to ignore the fact that, at 2'8'', he would make Dr. Evil's height rise to just over 21 feet. No matter.
However, there are only about four hearty laughs throughout the entire hour and a half (the most notable being the now infamous tent scene), and that just isn't enough to warrant even a minor recommendation. If there is in fact an "Austin Powers 3", they should just kill off secret agent Powers and put the emphasis on Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. Unconventional, yes, but there's no denying that it'd make for a better movie.
*Find all of Jason's reviews online at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Boulevard/7475 **Complimentary movie ticket courtesy of Valley Cinemas at http://www.movie-tickets.com
Copyright 1999 Jason Wallis
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