Let me begin by saying I love Mike Myers. I've followed him from his Second City days, through his brilliant work on "SNL," his triumph in "Wayne's World," and up to his classic "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." Sure, he's had some missteps ("So I Married An Axe Murderer" and "Wayne's World II" were pretty disappointing), but this is thew first time he's fallen flat on his face. This film stinks. And it's not the toilet humor that sinks it. The main problem is that nearly every joke in the film is a tired retread of a gag from the first one (i.e., "SNL"-er Will Ferrell's Mustafa character's difficulty in dying and Powers' nudity being obscured by well-placed inanimate objects). Plus, once the character of Powers has been put back into his proper context/era of the Swingin' '60s, there is no point for him to exist... I mean, the whole idea of the first film was a "fish out of water" tale of a '60s swinger's ideals being horribly out of place in the '90s. As a result, the comic burden rests on Dr. Evil's shoulders and, though a brilliant character, it's too big a job for him to carry the movie. Heather Graham, though unarguably erection-inspiring, has absolutely zero flair for comedy, unlike Elizabeth Hurley. Graham isn't an especially good actress, but she does have great, big doleful eyes which, when she's given little dialogue and placed in a drama, can convince audiences there is a lot going on in her head, though little actually is. So, she's reduced to being an incredible, blonde piece of window dressing. Fat Bastard is an excuse for Myers to trot out his Scot character he's been doing for years, but obesity and an eccentric accent alone do not make comedy - jokes and situation help (see "Monty Python's the Meaning of Life" for pointers). Myers' biggest charm has been his eagerness for audiences to like him. Here, he appears as if he thinks he can do just about anything and extend no effort in doing it, and the folks will just eat it up. It's a huge turn off... almost as big a turn off as the fact that, when the Box Office receipts were tallied, he was right. If you like Myers and halfway decent comedy, avoid this like the plague.
Review of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
