Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Starring: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Michael York, Elizabeth Hurley, Seth Green, Robert Wagner, Rob Lowe, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, Will Ferrell, Clint Howard, Kevin Durand, Woody Harrelson (cameo), Kristen Johnson, Tim Robbins, Willie Nelson, Rebecca Romijn, Fred Willard
Directed by: Jay Roach
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) travels back in time to the 1960s and steals Austin Powers' (Mike Myers) mojo. Now, Austin must travel back, retrieve his mojo, and stop Dr. Evil.

Review:

Tim: After the surprisingly excellent Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, it was probably inevitable that there would be a decrease in quality for the sequel. Comedy sequels are notoriously difficult to do- how do you strike the balance between "new" jokes and continuing the themes established in the first film? Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me pulls this off better than most- this is a solid, entertaining sequel. Unfortunately, it's also marked by a clear drop in quality. While the first film was great, this one is only good.

Let's talk about the issues first. One of my biggest beefs with this film is how they handled the character of Vanessa from the first film. I love the approach to the Austin Powers franchise that they stole from James Bond- each film features a new "Powers Girl". However, this is problematic, because Austin married Vanessa at the end of the first film. This sequel brings Elizabeth Hurley back in a very small role, but I felt like the way they handled her character was just sloppy and stupid. They needed to create a better sense of closure. After wanting us to invest in the Austin-Vanessa relationship in the first film, this movie asks us to throw our emotions in the dumpster and immediately move on. They did not handle it well.

The second issue I had is that this film recycled too many of the jokes from the first film. At several points, this movie offers slight variations on jokes we've already heard. I hate when sequels do that, as it suggests to me that the writers are running out of good ideas. Comedy sequels need to move forward, not backwards.

Okay, I still have other issues, but I do want to focus on a few positives. This film did a really good job of introducing new, memorable characters to the fold. While I don't love Verne Troyer or his "Mini Me" character, I have to admit that those scenes are incredibly unique and memorable. While I hated the character of Fat Bastard, I appreciate the attempt to create new characters (and giving Myers another character to play), and you have to admit, he's pretty memorable. The introduction of these two characters help to establish how this film is different than the original. Those are two huge strengths. I also really liked the character of Felicity Shagwell, and not just because I typically like Heather Graham. The character is very different from Vanessa (polar opposite in many ways, in fact), and I loved the attempt to pair Austin up with someone more similar to himself. That again differentiated this film. Speaking of Graham, I love the energy she brought to the part, and she's certainly one of the highlights of the film.

I thought the story was fine, but certainly a step lower than the original story. Giving Austin Powers a challenge like losing his mojo was an interesting approach, although I have to admit I found the whole thing rather boring. The time travel aspect was humorous, and while the story worked in the context of the film, the whole thing just didn't match the heights of the original. Again, though, there's a number of really funny moments spread throughout the film. These might not be instantly memorable, immediately classic moments, but they are humorous and entertaining. I still really enjoyed watching this movie- the enjoyment factor was fairly high.

As difficult as it is to pull off a good comedy sequel, I have to give Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me credit. While it does suffer from many of the expected pitfalls of a comedy sequel, it does a lot right as well. It made this franchise still feel fresh and relevant, which is all you can ask a second film to do. I enjoyed watching this film and was quite entertained throughout. There's still life in the franchise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers in Goldmember