Movie Project Review: Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me

Posted to Movie Project page on Thursday Jan 13, 2011.

• Title:  Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me
• Director:  Jay Roach
• Date:  1999
• Studio:  New Line (et al)
• Genre:  Comedy
• Format:  Color, Widescreen
• DVD Formats:  NTSC, R1
• Cast:  Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, Verne Troyer

"You know what's remarkable?  How much the English countryside looks in no way like Southern California." -- Austin Powers (as he and Felicity escape in her car to the "English Countryside" which is obviously Southern California).

Not as good as the first Austin Powers film, The Spy Who Shagged Me still delivers a good story.  When the film came out I was actually surprised that they got away with that particular title, considering what "shag" is British slang for -- and that it's actually quite rude.  I also wondered if  the title was changed in the UK.  However, the title is also a parody of  the Roger Moore Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me.

The film opens with a crawl, also spoken, that's a parody of  Star Wars.  Star Wars will again be referenced later in the movie.  Then we have what is, I think, the biggest mistake in terms of  story-telling of  the film -- Vanessa (Elizabeth Hurley) turns out to be a Fembot, who tries to kill Austin and then blows up.  This leaves Austin single again, but it also ruins the romantic sub-plot of the first film, and any chance of  having a pair of married spies, instead of  horny, randy super-spies.  In short, I really missed Vanessa in this film.

Dr Evil returns in 1999, develops a time machine in his secret lair at Starbucks HQ in Seattle, and goes back in time to steal Austin's mojo from his frozen body at the Ministry of  Defense with the help of  Fat Bastard (also played by Myers).  Austin follows in a time-traveling VW Bug convertible, and meets Felicity Shagwell, CIA agent, at a club where she stops one of  Dr. Evil's assassins who's out to kill Austin.  Leaving the club they are attacked by another assassin, Mustafa (Will Farrell) from the first film, who also fails.

Felicity is a feminine Austin, with a "woman" symbol necklace and who's wearing a crushed velvet outfit when they meet.  She's American, and works for the CIA, but is still very much the swinging spy.  She even admits she became a spy because of  her admiration for Austin.

The film then slows down quite a bit, as Austin begins to fall for Felicity, but does nothing because of  his missing mojo.  There's a long sequence of  Austin being the fashion photographer and taking pictures of Felicity, and their falling for each other, but being unable to act on their feelings.  Felicity then, well, um, "shags" Fat Bastard, to get close enough to plant a homing beacon on him.  In a round about way, this leads to Austin and Felicity finding Dr. Evil's hidden island volcano liar.  Felicity and Austin go there, but eventually end up on the moon.  Because this time around Dr. Evil's plan is to use a giant laser on the moon to destroy cities on Earth, thus making the moon a "Death Star" (and a string of references to Star Wars, and the Bond film, Moonraker).  Scott Evil also travels back in time and pokes fun at his father who keeps making future cultural references that no one around him gets.

And Dr. Evil and Frau Farbissia end up having an affair.

A little extra time travel is used in the climax on the moon.  But overall, the plot is a bit overly complicated and too many references are thrown in that don't really add to the film.  There is some verbal wordplay and innuendo, but somehow the second helping of Austin Powers just seems like the same old thing.  I missed Mimi Rogers and Elizabeth Hurley very much, and Heather Graham seemed like a poor substitute (not really the actresses' fault).  I wasn't overly impressed with Mini-Me who seemed a cruel joke played out far too long, and the plot of this film seems to meander a bit too much.

However, there were points that worked.  Mike Myers still does a very sympathetic Austin.  Michael York does a brilliant job as Basil Exposition.  At the end, Myers, as Fat Bastard, delivers an excellent, surprisingly sympathetic soliloquy about the pains of  his condition.  Heather Graham isn't awful, she just isn't Elizabeth Hurley and I found her character a bit annoying.

The filming and color of the 1960s were great also.  And the opening sequence (under the credits) was brilliant.  I especially liked the parody of synchronized swimming films.  The psychedelic scene breaks (Laugh-In style) are still present.  Oh, and not to be forgotten - the music in this film is also excellent and I would really love a soundtrack.

Remember to watch the credits all the way through to see a couple of deleted scenes that are actually quite, quite fun.

Recommendation:  See It!  But not as much of  a classic comedy/parody as the first film.
Rating: 4 out of  5 Stars
Next Film:  Austin Powers in Goldmember

Movie Project Review: Austin Powers in Goldmember

Posted tonight on my Movie Project blog

• Title:  Austin Powers in Goldmember
• Director:  Jay Roach
• Date:  2002
• Studio:  New Line (et al)
• Genre:  Comedy
• Cast:  Mike Myers, Beyonce' Knowles, Michael Caine, Michael York, Seth Green, Robert Wagner, Verne Troyer, Fred Savage
  
• Format:  Widescreen, Color
• DVD Format:  NTSC, R1

"All right, Goldmember.  Don't  play the laughing boy!  There are only two things I can't stand in this world:  People who are intolerant of other people's cultures...and the Dutch!" -- Sir Nigel Powers

Goldmember begins with four or five title sequences (depending on how one counts them) and breaks the fourth wall twice.  This is an excellent example of  the problem with this film.  Whereas the first two Austin Powers films had a strong plot, this film feels like a series of  barely connected short skits, sketches, and ideas instead of a film.

Nominally, the film is parodying many purely 70s types of  films -- rollar skating films, trucker films, disco films, prison films,  even the 1960s Bond film Goldfinger is briefly referenced.  Dr. Evil, who now has his evil headquarters behind the Hollywood sign and is running a talent agency, is captured in the beginning of  the film.  However, the plot to kidnap Austin's father, Nigel Powers, played by Michael Caine goes on.  Austin travels into the 1970s in an outragous pimpmobile (another 70s reference), picks-up Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce') but fails to rescue Nigel.  From there it's a bit of a mess.  Fat Bastard returns as a Sumo wrestler.  Scott Evil finally gives in and becomes evil - taking Mini Me's place at Dr. Evil's side (who has now escaped prison).  Mini Me then defects to British Intelligence and becomes Mini Austin.  Eventually, during the climax, Nigel reveals that Dr. Evil is actually Austin's brother and everyone is happy except the now totally evil and quite mad Scott Evil.

One of the funniest vignettes of  the film is Michael Caine (again, as Austin's father, Nigel) and Austin disguising what they are saying by speaking in English English or Cockney Rhyming slang -- with subtitles.  It's hilarious!  Now, Cockney Rhyming slang is real - it's an actual version of English, developed in London's East End by criminals and the lower class so cops (Bobbys) and upper class Brits wouldn't understand what they were saying (much like any slang or argot).  The idea is that the phrase not only rhymes with itself  but it rhymes with the word the slang phrase replaces (eg "trouble and strife" means wife or "apples and pears" means stairs).  As the slang's been around since Victorian times, often the second half of the phrase is left off (e.g. just "apples" to mean "wife").  Needless to say, it's a bit confusing -- and yes, it's spoken as fast as Caine and Myers do in the film, if not faster.  (I once heard a very frustrated Neil Gaiman break into Cockney Rhyming slang at an SF convention when trying to out-talk Harlan Ellison.  Neil won.)  However, that one scene I always end up rewinding and watching two or three times - every time I watch the film.

Another cute bit occurs in Tokyo when Austin, Nigel, and Foxxy are escaping and their car hits a Japanese monster-movie paper-mache monster and starts pushing it down the street.  The crowds start running away and one yells, "Godzilla!" - then Masi Oka appears and says, "It looks like Godzilla, but due to international copyright law - it isn't!" Then both run away.  That bit was brilliant.

And Michael Caine is perfect to play Austin Powers, especially as the character of Austin, with his wavy reddish hair and glasses come from Caine's look in films like The Ipcress File.  And Caine and Myers have great chemistry.  But there isn't enough of Caine, and overall the film misses the boat a bit.  I would have much, much preferred a film about Austin and his father's relationship - even Austin's daddy issues (something briefly mentioned by Dr. Evil in the first film) as compared to the relationship between Dr. Evil and Scott and Mini Me.  The last scene is quite nice but a bit rushed.  I could have done without all the pull-backs revealing our characters watching a movie of Austin in "Austinpussy" - complete with A-list Hollywood cast, and more actual story.  The first two films had story - this film has sketches.

There is a lot of music in the film, as always with the Austin Powers films, but no psychedelic scene breaks.  Both Austin and Dr. Evil get to perform musical numbers though.  As does Foxxy, though hers is part of  her cover at Goldmember's club.  However, whereas the music in the first two films was the original songs (Secret Agent Man, Incense and Peppermints, etc) in this film music is actually parodied ("What's it all about, Algie" becomes "What's it all about, Austin?" for example).  Using original music worked better.

And, whereas the first two films had us sympathetic with Austin - but at times with Dr. Evil, Scott, Number Two, and even Fat Bastard -- this film often seems out-and-out cruel.  Goldmember has no redeeming values at all, and the peeling skin is way over the top.  Fat Bastard does actually get another sympathetic scene (he is perfect as a Sumo wrestler) and at the very end is shown to have lost over 100 pounds from the Jerald Subway diet, but still...  More plot and more character, and less brief sketches going nowhere would have helped the film immensely.

So why did I buy it?  Well, I got the first two films in a two-pack -- two films for $10.00, which is five dollars each, so I couldn't pass it up.  And I kept seeing Goldmember at bargain shelves for $5.00 and finally bought a copy, figuring, if  nothing else, the little that Michael Caine is in this film makes it worth five bucks.  I also really liked the "Singin' in the Rain" parody that's one of  the five opening credit sequences - and, as I've said, the bit on English English.

Recommendation:  See it or not, depends on how much you like Austin Powers.
Rating:  3 of 5 Stars
Next Film:  Back to the Future