Review of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Introduction

1997`s Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery was a breath of fresh air in a rather stale genre. The comedy movie was rapidly becoming a staple of the gross-out generation, with jokes about bodily fluids the height of sophistication. IMOM sent up a beloved genre, the spy movie with wit, irreverence and a wonderful tongue in cheek attitude, and on the way let loose a gaggle of off-colour catchphrases that had parents blushing as well as creating one of cinema`s enduring comedy villains. It was inevitable that a sequel would happen, and in 1999, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me was unleashed, going up against Star Wars as its main summer rival. While the first film claimed a variety of antecedents and influences, TSWSM drifted further towards the James Bond camp, with it`s overt references in the title, theme tune and plot, lifted loosely from Moonraker. Yet the jokes and gags firmly established in the first film would be recycled to good effect here, establishing an Austin Powers tradition as firm as any Bond Movie. Anyway, as we left IMOM, Dr Evil was floating in space, plotting his revenge, and superspy Austin Powers was honeymooning with his new wife Vanessa.

As Dr Evil returns to Earth with a new plan to take over the world, Austin Powers gets a rude shock from his blushing bride, a pair of machine gun jubblies. Vanessa is actually a fem-bot sent by Dr Evil to kill his nemesis. Surviving the resultant explosion, Austin mourns the loss of his wife long enough to realise that he is single once more, and the randy spy is once again free to charm the female demographic in his inimitable way. Not for long though, as Dr Evil has invented a "time machine", and he uses this "time machine" to travel back to when Austin was still cryogenically frozen, and steals Austin`s mojo, rendering him impotent in every possible way. But you can`t keep a good spy down, and Austin, with the aid of a psychedelic VW Beetle travels back to 1969 to regain his mojo and defeat Evil`s… um evil plan. For Dr Evil has set out to place a giant `frickin` laser on the moon, and intends to extort the United States for a lot of money. Austin isn`t alone in his efforts as the sexy CIA agent Felicity Shagwell has been assigned to assist him, and in his de-mojo`d state, he`s a little intimidated by the randy spy who can out-Austin Austin.

Video

TSWSM is given a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that is by and large clear, bright and colourful, with added emphasis on the colourful. The sixties are brought to vivid life in this film, at least a 1960s that we are nostalgic for, if bearing little resemblance to the real thing. It`s the best of those classic spy movies that we see on the screen, with homage paid to the best of Bond, Flint and many more. However there are problems, and they are compression artefacts. With a disc like this, with the film given three soundtracks, and extras amounting to a similar running time as the film, you begin to wonder how it all fit on one disc. The answer is in the compression artefacts that rear their ugly heads whenever there is fine detail on the screen. That means of course poor Mini-Me bearing the brunt. There are also moments of moiré when certain sixties fashions make their appearance.

Audio

The sound is available in DD 5.1 and DD 2.0 Surround English. The surrounds are put to good if infrequent use in this dialogue heavy comedy, and I`m particularly reminded of one scene where Mini-Me goes dopplering past in outer space. It`s also an excuse to wheel out another stellar soundtrack, with modern contributions from Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, Elvis Costello, but the cream of the nostalgia goes to oldies like Steppenwolf, The Monkees, The Guess Who, as well as the now iconic Austin Powers theme, Soul Bossa Nova.

Features

Unlike the first film, TSWSM has a boatload of extras, albeit to the detriment of the image quality of the final film, starting off with some brilliantly animated menus with considerable input from the hero himself.

There is a page where you can access the disc`s credits.

There are some 19 minutes of deleted scenes, 21 of them to be precise presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic format, and some of them are quite funny though a couple are a little indulgent. 2+2 is the best and it`s a shame that it was cut.

Behind the scenes is just that, 26 minutes covering some 7 subjects presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic. As well as the usual film clips, there are interviews with the cast and crew and behind the scenes footage. It`s all pretty informative and enlightening.

There are three music videos, with Madonna`s Beautiful Stranger the cream of the crop. Lenny Kravitz` American Woman is certainly filled with eye candy, but the duffer has to be Melanie G, a.k.a. Mel B`s cover of the classic Cameo track Word Up. Dressed as a satellite of all things, I could barely stand 30 seconds of her caterwauling.

There are 4 trailers, the two teasers sending up Star Wars and the theatrical trailer, as well as the trailer for IMOM.

There is a list of cameos with relevant filmographies and a link to their particular scenes.

There are cast and crew biographies and filmographies, as well as an advert of an Austin Powers trivia game.

The Easter Egg contains links to Dr Evil`s songs plus some Classic Evil Schemes Gone Awry.

Finally there is the commentary track, provided by Mike Myers, Mike McCullers and Jay Roach. It`s all pretty good, filled with relevant comments and appropriate witticisms and is on a par with the commentary for the first film.

Unfortunately none of the extras have subtitles.

Conclusion

If you have seen International Man Of Mystery, then you know exactly what you are letting yourself in for with the sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. It isn`t a necessary prerequisite to watch it though, as TSWSM is a funny film in its own right. One of the golden rules of comedy is repetition, and it shamelessly recycles the same gags to immense comic effect.

The cast from the first film all return to reprise their characters, with Mike Myers once again bringing Austin Powers and Dr Evil to life. Dr Evil`s hench-people are still there with the abrasive Frau Farbissina and Number 2 played by Mindy Sterling and Robert Wagner respectively. There`s an added dimension to the Scott-Dr Evil relationship that also lights the screen, with Scott once again played by the brilliant Seth Green. Aiding Austin are Basil Exposition played once again by Michael York, and new love interest Felicity Shagwell played by Heather Graham who holds her own against the comic anarchy. Liz Hurley makes a brief cameo to rapidly do away with Mrs Powers in the best Bond wife style.

It is pretty much a case of same old, same old with the same jokes and characters, and that alone would not have justified the sequel. But it`s the inspired creation of two characters that distinguish this film from the first. The introduction of Rob Lowe as young Number 2 with an uncanny imitation of the elder Wagner is great to watch, but it is the character of Mini-Me that steals the film. The little Dr Evil Clone is a joy to watch and actor Verne Troyer possesses some classic comic timing.

Unfortunately there are points to the sequel that aren`t as strong, and in many ways make it an inferior film to the first, as well as presaging the dire third film, Goldmember. First is the character of Felicity Shagwell. When it comes to the acting, Heather Graham wins hands down, but in terms of characterisation, Liz Hurley was the better love interest for Austin. Shagwell is pretty much a female Powers and brings little chemistry to the relationship. Vanessa Kensington, as a modern nineties woman provided brilliant friction, and illustrated the culture clash as a quintessential sixties spy had to fit into a modern enlightened world. The sequel has no time for such thoughtful introspection.

The biggest downside has to be Myers creation Fat Bastard. This is where Austin Powers descends to the scatological, something the first film managed to avoid. Fat Bastard is a wholly irredeemable character with nothing to commend him. Fart jokes are funny, but s*** jokes are just s***, if I may be so crude, and Fat Bastard`s endless litany of rectal refuse as well as his unfunny eating habits are little more than an indulgence on Myers` part. It isn`t enough for him to be a star twice over, but he has to play a third character as well, with barely a character trait to mention. The third film is killed by the tendency to indulge Myers where he plays a fourth such characterless character.

The Spy Who Shagged Me is hilarious for the most part, but lacks the heart of the first film. It`s advisable to not be eating when the unfunny Fat Bastard is on. An extras laden disc, but the image quality suffers as a result.