Quand Harriet découpe Charlie

"So I Married an Axe Murderer" is a delightfully offbeat, inventive comedy I can see again and again, and laugh every time.

Mike Myers, in a dual role as the neurotic but romantic Charlie McKenzie and Charlie's cantankerous father, gives the best performance I've seen from him so far (I've yet to see the "Austin Powers" movies but I didn't especially care for "Wayne's World," maybe because I couldn't stand Dana Carvey or his character). Nancy Travis is quite good as Harriet, the seemingly perfect girlfriend who's got a secret. The supporting cast also does excellent work, especially Anthony LaPaglia as Charlie's policeman buddy Tony.

What makes this movie truly special isn't the principal story line -- the romance-mystery-suspense -- but the many wonderful bits of inspired lunacy/hilarity along the way. Among them: every scene involving the hero's cantankerous dad; Harriet's sister Rose persuading Charlie to stay for breakfast; Phil Hartman's cameo as a very intense tour guide at Alcatraz (this scene gets butchered when the movie is edited for TV, even non-premium cable; make sure you see the uncut version!); Charles Grodin as the surly driver of a vehicle commandeered by a cop; an episode involving a guy who works on the obituary page of a newspaper; the side-splitting scenes between Tony and his precinct captain (a very funny Alan Arkin). There are many such moments throughout the film, turning up in the most unexpected places. The dialogue is witty, and the humor is completely unpredictable and fresh.

This has been my favorite movie since it came out. I watched it twice and thought it was O.K., then I started to really get it. Every time I watched it, I caught more jokes. I know nearly every line by heart, I have seen it so many times. I am not a nerd, or some crazy person. Just someone who appreciates hilarious movies. The best scene is when Charlie's father (Mike Myers) tells Tony (his best friend) about the "secret society". I laugh to the point of tears at that part. I still can't help but say "Fine. Go. You've stayed your hour." every time someone leaves my home. It's just the perfect, crazy ending to a visit, isn't it? Brilliance, Mike Myers. Brilliance.

To most of us, Mike Myers is either Wayne Campbell or Austin Powers. So, it may come to some surprise that he played a somewhat different role in "So I Married an Axe Murderer". As San Francisco poet Charlie Mackenzie, who suspects that his girlfriend (Nancy Travis) may be a killer, he makes the most of his role. As it is, he not only plays Charlie, but also Charlie's Scottish immigrant father (he was probably priming himself to play multiple roles in the Austin Powers movies). Watching the movie, one may feel like writing some poetry.

There are some scenes in the movie that might tense you up. But, they know how to play these scenes so that everything comes out funny. After all, this is Mike Myers here. Anyway, it's not the funniest movie ever, but still worth seeing, if only once. Also starring Anthony LaPaglia, Amanda Plummer, Brenda Fricker, Matt Doherty, Charles Grodin, Phil Hartman, Debi Mazar, Steven Wright, and Michael Richards in a brief appearance.

The sad thing is that this is Mike Myers' lowest grossing film, which shows just what most people know. It's absolutely his best one though, with more likeable wit than the 2 Austin Powers pics and better characters and plot than the Waynes World movies.

Myers can only really do about 4 voices (Himself, Wayne, Austin and a Scotsman, which he's doing AGAIN in Shrek now) and he gets to show them all off here, which is actually great. He's great as his miserable dad, and the whole thing is just great fun, a really good film. Nancy Travis and Anthony LaPaglia as his insecure cop buddy support Myers well all the way through. Mike Myers and this movie just rule.

So, I married an Axe murderer is not the sort of Mike Myers comedy that people have become used to over the years. Myers will, undoubtedly, be most remembered most for his Austin Powers series, but this is a film that certainly should not be forgotten; Myers was never funnier than he is in this movie.

The plot centres around Charlie Mackenzie (Myers), a man who can never have a girlfriend without finding a flaw with her which always leads him to end the relationship. That is until he meets Harriet Michaels. She seems perfect, but the flaw that Charlie finds with this woman, may cost him his neck...

What follows is a tour-de-force of comedy. It is true that a few of the jokes don't really work, but the ones that do REALLY work, and it 's easy to forgive the movie for the ones that don't. In fact, I haven't seen this movie in over a year, but I'm laughing as I type this. This movie features some positively brilliant moments, from Myers' poetry sessions ("Woman! Woah-man, wooaaaaaahhhhh-man"), to the very Scottish father, played to perfection by Myers who has a duel role("Head! Move! Now!") to Charlie's police man friend, who is definitely the man with the most comedy; his conversations with Charlie regarding the song "Only You", the moments with his police chief (a memorable performance by Alan Arkin) and most notably, the parts with the commandeered driver ("No, it's one of my favourite things") are positively hilarious. The entire cast of this movie delivers their lines with a great comic timing; a lot of the quotes I mentioned aren't funny out of the context of the film, but due to the way they are delivered and the context of the movie, the dialogue is side splitting.

There isn't a lot of plot or heart to chew on with this movie, which accounts for the lot of the reason that this is a short review; but when a film is this funny, who cares what it's about? In the face of Myers' more commercially successful movies, such as Wayne's World, Austin Powers and Shrek; So, I Married an Axe Murderer isn't going to win a lot of fans as it's not as outgoing as the other three and a lot of the humour is very wry. However, this is Myers finest hour and this little comedy gem should definitely not be forgotten.