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 he "Austin Powers" franchise is probably the
only movies I know of where the plot is irrelevant from the very start. 1999's
"Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" turned a minor success (the
original movie) into a highly profitable series. Sporting enough product tie-ins
and ads to choke a family of Mustangs, "Spy" brings back
star/writer/creator Mike Myers as the international man of mystery, Austin
Powers, to once again battle his nemesis, the world domination seeking Dr. Evil
(also Myers).
Besides Powers and Evil, Myers also plays an obscenely
obese character name Fat Bastard, who is, I believe, some sort of Scottish
henchman working for Dr. Evil, and who has a taste for eating babies. Fat
Bastard's most famous line is shouting, "Get into my belly!" at his
would-be dinners. Not surprisingly, the film's funniest moments involve Myers as
either Dr. Evil or Fat Bastard. To be honest, I wish there was more of Fat
Bastard, who just brings down the screen with his "I'm so sexy" act.
Can this guy possibly get any funnier? (The answer is Yes, leading to Fat
Bastard making a terrific return in the third "Austin Powers"
installment, "Goldmember".)
Stepping into the babe role formerly held by Elizabeth
Hurley in the original is Heather Graham ("The
Guru"), as a sexy American CIA agent. Graham spends most of the movie
looking lost as an actor but very loose in revealing clothes. Graham still can't
act, but that's beside the point as she's just eye candy. Her presence is meant
to provide a counter balance to the Godawful appearance of Austin Powers, who
despite being considered super sexy in the series is of course not very visually
appealing, bad teeth notwithstanding.
Plot-wise, Dr. Evil decides to go into the past using a
time machine in order to steal Austin Powers' mojo. Whatever the heck a
"mojo" is is laughed off as silly plot nonsense, which of course it
is. In a funny bit, Dr. Evil goes on Jerry Springer with son Scott (Seth Green),
and the duo gets into a brawl with some Ku Klux Klansmen. Some other chuckles
come from spirited exchanges between the wry Scott, who thinks his father is a
total idiot, and Dr. Evil, who doesn't think Scott is quite evil enough. Verne
Troyer became a household name playing a Dr. Evil clone name Mini-Me. (Actually
Mini-Me became a household name, not the name of the guy playing him.)
"The Spy Who Shagged Me" is pretty funny, but I
laughed more during "Goldmember". (Notice that I don't rate the
laughter quotient of the original, mostly because I don't quite remember its
contents.) Austin's many scenes with Graham's Felicity Shagwell are duds, and
the film really loses a lot of steam by indulging in the silly romance angle. Of
note is Will Ferrell ("Saturday Night Live") who shows up briefly as
one of Dr. Evil's hitman, a bumbling buffoon who never quite dies as expected.
Like Mike Myers, director Jay Roach is synonymous with the
franchise, having directed all 3 installments. Roach's other notable credit is
the Robert De Niro comedy "Meet
the Parents". Guesses are, there will be another "Austin
Powers", and even a fifth. And why not? The films are reasonably cheap to
make since the cheap-looking special effects and sets are cheap-looking on
purpose. And since Mike Myers plays pretty much all the important roles anyway,
all he and director Jay Roach needs is another pretty up and coming actress to
step into the babe role.
The only question is, how many more products can the
filmmakers shove into the background before the whole movie explodes from
product placement? I guess we'll find out when the next "Austin
Powers" movie comes out.
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