Dir; Jay Roach. Starring; Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Verne Troyer. Color. PG-13. 95 min.
James Bond is the longest running franchise in American film history. Many have tried to emulate or mock 007. Nobody did it better than Mike Myers with 1997’s “Austin Powers”. A cult classic that quickly became the fastest selling VHS movie ever. For those too young to remember, VHS tapes were like 8-tracks. When you rented them, you were expected to rewind to the beginning. Otherwise your local movie store would charge you a fee. Due to this unexpected success, a sequel was inevitable. “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” gave Myers and director Jay Roach the opportunity to go full on crazy without sweating a budget.
Mike Myers plays Austin Powers, the premier spy of Britain, bad teeth and all. In the original, Powers is awoken in the 90’s after being cryogenically frozen for 30 years. Don’t worry, logic is not a factor here. That is a good thing. Powers’s ultimate villain is Dr. Evil (also played by Myers). In this sequel, Dr. Evil has returned from a trip to space. Many dick jokes about his spaceship ensue. Dr. Evil creates a time machine, and hires “Fat Bastard” to steal the Mojo of Austin Powers. No sane person would expect an international spy to fight his nemesis and save the world without their Mojo. Powers must go back in time to the 1960’s and stop this chain of events from taking place. He must also stop Dr. Evil from destroying the earth for One-Hundred-Billion-Dollars, but thats neither here nor there.
Like any series, the original “Austin Powers” movie is a building block. “The Spy Who Shagged Me” continues this ridiculous world. Powers has a new girl, Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham). She reminds him of the free-will life that existed in the 60’s. Dr. Evil’s #2 is now younger (Rob Lowe, in a hilarious performance). #2 is much more loyal to Dr. Evil, as you do in youth.
The ultimate comedy genius is the creation of Mini-Me (Verne Troyer). While Dr. Evil was traveling in space, he was cloned by his evil crew. The result is a mute dwarf with a taste for human flesh. Mini-Me’s favorite flavor is Dr. Evil’s son Scott (Seth Green), a boy never evil enough for the Dr.’s liking. Mini-Me provides the silliest moments, and also the best.
“The Spy Who Shagged Me” is not as good as the original. No surprise, but also not a hindrance. A good parody is more ridiculous than the source material. Jaws, Dr. No, Odd-Job, Silva, Blofeld. The names of just a few villains over the past 50 years of Bond movies. Not as silly as Mini-Me or Dr. Evil, but pretty close. The “Austin Powers” series is fun. All that is required is you laugh with it along the way.
Written by Byrd
Suck Factor: 2 out of 7 (7 means your movie really SUCKS)
The SUCK FACTOR, how it works. We have flipped the rating system upside down. If a film is classic, it gets a 0. Meaning that movie has 0 SUCKS. If a film is complete trash you must avoid at all costs, it gets a 7, meaning this movie really SUCKS!
Greg Squared Films 