# Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

### reviewed by
Edward Johnson-Ott

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Robert Wagner, Gia Carides, Seth Green, Cindy Margolis, Kristen Johnston, Rob Lowe, Clint Howard, Mindy Sterling, Scott Cooper, Wilmer Valderrama, Verne Troyer, Mitch Rouse, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Elizabeth Hurley, Willie Nelson, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Jerry Springer. Written by Michael McCullers and Mike Myers. Directed by M. Jay Roach. Rated PG-13, 2.5 stars (out of five stars)

Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com

Following a sneak preview for "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," several friends asked my opinion of the comedy. When I shrugged it off as merely "okay," the disappointment and annoyance in their eyes was unmistakable. Like so many others, they were psyched up for this sequel to the 1997 spoof and eager to play the "Austin Powers" game, tossing around catch phrases like "Yeah, baby, yeah," "shagadelic," and "Oh, behave!" Then along comes Movie Boy to rain on their parade.

I freely admit to being mystified over the immense popularity that has built up around "Austin Powers." A modest success when released theatrically, the film went on to become a huge hit on video. Perhaps repeated viewings add to the enjoyment of the absurdist humor. Whatever. I watched the original only once and found it intermittently funny, but too thin to warrant a second look. I feel the same way about the sequel. Packed with gags -- some clever, many lame and almost all puerile -- the film has too many dead spots between the laughs, and I caught myself checking my watch almost as often as I chuckled. In other words, "Austin Powers 2" is "okay."

But "okay" isn't good enough for fans caught up in Powers-mania. While many have complained about the unrelenting hype for "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace," few seem bothered by the massive barrage of ads for this film. Granted, some of the commercials are a hoot, but still, the ubiquitous advertising campaign left me tired of Mike Myers face long before entering the theater.

When giving advice to student reviewers at seminars, I urge them to avoid the inclusion of lengthy plot descriptions, explaining that writers who do so are generally disinterested in the film and merely using a long synopsis as a lazy way to pad the word count of their article. With that in mind, here is a lengthy plot description of "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me."

The film begins in 1999, with freeze-dried '60s super-spy Powers (Mike Myers, who also plays Dr. Evil, a Scottish thug called Fat Bastard, and a '60s guru) honeymooning with Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) when he discovers that his new bride is actually a "fembot" with a bomb planted in her noggin. Single again, Powers learns that his nemesis, Dr. Evil, has returned from outer space with a new diabolical scheme to wreck havoc. Using a time machine (with enjoyably cheesy visuals straight out of "The Time Tunnel"), Dr. Evil travels back to 1969 and steals Austin Powers' "mojo," leaving the oh-so-groovy secret agent impotent in all senses of the word.

But, thanks to British Intelligence, Austin Powers also has access to a time machine, in the form of a psychedelic Volkswagen Beetle (his travel mode echoes that of the "Back to the Future" trilogy). So he returns to the Swinging Sixties to regain his virility and stop Dr. Evil from destroying the world. Along the way, Powers picks up a new love interest, American CIA operative Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), who joins him on his biggest adventure yet.

NOTE: The preceding plot description ate up 188 words -- not bad, not bad at all.

In "Austin Powers'" scattershot screenplay are a number of undeniably entertaining scenes. Dr. Evil's son Scott (Seth Green) appears on a Jerry Springer Show episode titled "My Father Is Evil and Wants to Take Over the World," only to have his dad make a surprise appearance that, naturally, leads to a brawl. Jerry Springer segments in movies have been done to death, but this one is nicely-executed and plays well.

A particularly witty scene has Powers addressing the audience directly, saying "You know what's amazing is how England looks in no way like southern California" just prior to a fight obviously set in the southern California hills, with a red British phone booth incongruously placed on the side of the road for "authenticity."

My favorite bit shows Dr. Evil piloting a spaceship that resembles male genitalia, with rapid-cuts of various characters' reactions to the sight (a radar operator says "It looks like a giant..." then the film cuts to a fighter pilot shouting "Dick! Dick, look out to starboard!" and so forth). The sequence is juvenile as hell and very funny.

A lot of the movie falls flat, however. Endless segues of a go-go dancing Powers grow tiresome, and Heather Graham lacks comic spark. The visuals of Dr. Evil's tiny clone, Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), are amusing, but Troyer's limited acting skills mute the humorous potential. A reprise of a hilarious scene from the first film, depicting Austin frolicking nude with objects strategically placed to cover his "naughty parts," fails to amuse because you can see the "Cops"-style optical blur placed over his genitals.

Of course, "Austin Powers" is a critic-proof movie. Fans will drink in every second, quote the catch-phrases like crazy and wonder why a spoil- sport like me bothered to critique their movie.

    Good question.

    © 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott

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