-- If Heather Graham were my shagging partner, I wouldn't need my mojo, either.1999, 1 hr 35 min., Rated PG-13 for sexual innuendo and crude humor. Dir: Jay Roach. Cast: Mike Myers (Austin Powers/Dr. Evil/Fat Bastard), Heather Graham (Felicity Shagwell), Robert Wagner (Older No. 2), Rob Lowe (Younger No. 2), Elizabeth Hurley (Vanessa Kensington), Kirsten Johnston (Ivana Humpalot).
P.S. (Pre-Script): In this review of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, you will not see words such as "elegant," "graceful" and definitely not "important plot point." What you will see are synonyms to words such as "funny as hell," "belly laugh" and--to borrow from my Swedish-made penis enlarger, "for shi*s and giggles."
This review is actually one of the more difficult to write, because it's not easy to convey a successful comedy. I can't make you laugh your a** off like the film can. Oh, I guess I just conveyed it, huh? I couldn't take notes during Powers because I couldn't read "funny moment," "rolling on the floor laughing" or "can't breathe--too funny" because it comes out as gibberish scrawled across the page.
It's no secret that upon my initial viewing of the original Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery I laughed quite a bit, but was disappointed with the film because much of the comedy didn't hit the mark. However, afterwards I found myself continually quoting lines from the pic, and after watching it five, six more times I began to realize the near-comedic genius of Myers.
I did not have that problem with the premiere of the sequel. It is a joke-a-minute romp of craziness, where plot absolutely, positively, doesn't matter. The humor isn't as smart as the original, with this film diving head-first into the toilet-humor wackiness in the wake of last summer's There's Something About Mary.
Another item is the more frequent use of sexual innuendo, and not-so-subtle use of phallic symbols. There is an entire montage of commenting on the shape of Dr. Evil's spaceship, using celebrities' names for the male genitilia. The funniest moment, though, was a play on shadows with Felicity and Austin in a tent, with the couple having a--shall we say--"Richard Gere/hamster" moment.
As I mentioned in the pre-script, do not worry yourself with plot. The quick summary is that Austin has his mojo stolen by Dr. Evil, and has to travel back in time to 1969 to get it back.
If you are a fan of Dr. Evil, then prepare to laugh heartily, and often. He makes the film tick, because Myers is aware that Austin's 60s swinger schtick can get old, and provides the opportunity to broaden Dr. Evil's character in hilarious ways. One thing I don't get, though, is all the hubbub over Mini-Me and Mr. Bigglesworth. The cat and its miniature show up for one scene of thirty seconds, and Mini-Me is amusing, but never talks and only really does anything when he fights Austin on the Moon space base. But, I'm a Dr. Evil guy, and he gets to shine, with fights on "The Jerry Springer Show", a love scene after drinking Austin's mojo and many new "zip it" phrases to quote (best: "www.shhhh.com")
Fans will also enjoy the pop-culture party Myers throws, with dozens of cameos thrown in with spoofs on James Bond and an opening crawl reminiscent of Star Wars.
What does all this mean? Go see the dang movie, baby! Yeah!
The verdict: -- If Heather Graham were my shagging partner, I wouldn't need my mojo, either.
P.S. (Post-Script this time): What are parents thinking nowadays? In the 11 a.m. show Friday, there were at least 20 young kids in the audience, younger than 13, 10 and a few even looked 4 or 5 years old, all brought by adults! I don't think the adults saw the first movie, or this would have been a no-no. I'm willing to bet that after the first five minutes, in which Austin and Vanessa shag and Austin spends the entire credit sequence naked, that these parents were regretting the decision to bring the young-uns. In fact, I'll go farther and say that they regretted it after the credits! Every one of them included sexual innuendo, such as American Pie, which looks funny as hell, and actually has a teen going at it with a warm apple pie. Previews for Detroit Rock City and Drop Dead Gorgeous also had some items that would rate the trailers PG-13 and too much for the youngsters. Where are parents minds? No, it's not violence, but does that really make a difference?