Austin Powers - La spia che ci provava

Hilarious return to the international man of mystery with this non stop laugh ride of a film with Myers doing it again as Austin, Dr. Evil and a new character named Fat Bastard. There are many funny moments in the film especially the Scott/Dr. Evil episode of Jerry Springer and the emergence of Mini-Me, perfectly played by Verne Troyer. The laughs are constant. You'll laugh so hard, you'll have a headache when you leave the theater.

I don't know the character's name of Mindy Sterling but she is the German ally to Dr. Evil. There is a bit of chemistry between them too. Austin's back and single again and I won't tell you how. The gang includes Michael York who should be knighted as Basil Exposition. Dr. Evil is back along with his son, Scott played brilliantly by Seth Green. This time, they go on the Jerry Springer Show entitled "My Evil Dad wants to take over the world." I have to say that is a brilliant moment. My favorite moments are not with Austin but with Dr. Evil and his son, Scott. I love Mini-Me who is Dr. Evil's clone. He's more his son than Scott Evil ever was. Anyway we learn of Scott's mother's identity but I knew all along and won't spoil the surprise. Robert Wagner is back and it's another spoof of the Bond films but I still love watching Dr. Evil and Scott bond best of all or at least try too.

I remember when "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" came out in '99. The movie tried to use "Star Wars" fame to promote itself as it was being released around the same time.

Austin Powers (Mike Myers) is back and so is Number Two (Robert Wagner) and so is Mustafa (Will Ferrell). Austin is single again because his wife ended up being a fembot. Go figure. Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers) has a new scheme in mind. This time he wants to travel back in time to 1969, when Powers was frozen, and steal his mojo. For that task he uses a new henchman, Fat B_____d (IMDb won't allow me to write it).

I actually liked "Spy Who Shagged Me" more than "International Man." The addition of Mini Me (Verne Troyer) was hilarious and as I said about part one, I much prefer to see more Dr. Evil. The back and forth between him and his son Scott (Seth Green) is priceless.

The absence of Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) meant that Austin would need another female partner fawning over him. When he followed Dr. Evil back to 1969 he was partnered up with Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham) who, much like Vanessa, was a sex symbol with a gun.

The movie suffered a little with one of its run on jokes (the rocket ship shaped like a phallus). There were a few more stars which didn't help much, but we got a tad more Dr. Evil which was a big bonus.

... Yeah baby yeah

I didn't watch the original Austin Powers INTERNATIONAL MAN OF MYSTERY down to the fact that there's been more than enough Bond spoofs made over the years like those movies in the 1980s that starred Roger Moore . What ? they were actually official Bond movies ! Oh dear , I honestly thought they were spoofs and how do you spoof a spoof ? CASINO ROYALE tried it and failed while those movies that featured THE MAN FROM UNCLE are so dated they're almost unwatchable and lets not forget those awful Matt Helm movies . Come to think of it a comedy like THE PARTY that pokes fun at 1960s youth counter culture also feel very dated a surrogate Bond figure transported from the 1960s doesn't hold much appeal to me baby

However I was very surprised as to how much I enjoyed THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME down to the fact it's far more sophisticated than I expected . There's umpteen references to other TV shows and movies that IMDb die hards can enjoy . There's an edition of THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW ( Complete with bouncers Todd and Steve ) which could have easily have been a proper edition than a send up , there's a set stolen from crap 60s series THE TIME TUNNEL , a scene stolen from THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU , a fight scene very reminiscent of the dog attack from THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY . I could go on listing all the movie and TV connections but I won't bother except to say that the plot of this movie is merged with the plots of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and MOONRAKER

The aforementioned elements will certainly appeal to the film buffs while the bad taste jokes will appeal to the teenage market . I wasn't all that taken with the character of Fat Bastard or the fart jokes or the scene with " This coffee tastes like sh*t " but it's refreshing to see a movie comedy that does try to mix post modernist sophistication with gross out humour , JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK probably tried this but totally failed . Also naming characters with double entrede names like Felicity Shagwell and Robin Spitz Swallows might be crass but film fans will remember the Bond movies also had similarly named characters like Miss Goodthighs ( " So I can see " ) and Plenty O Toole ( " Of course you do " ) so I guess this is also an amalgamation between schoolboy humour and sophistication

THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME is hardly Oscar material but is very entertaining

Austin Powers is one of those movies that has become MORE popular as time wears on. Austin's slang has worked its way into the lexicon and everything from the redhot video to the Austin Powers Penis Enlarger is on sale and raking in meeeeeelions. When news of a sequel hit the streets, fans freaked. It's safe to say that AP2 is rivaled only by The Phantom Menace as 1999's must see.

The wait is over.

The second-most anticipated movie of 1999 finally comes to theaters. We're ecstatic to report that AP is a friggin' laugh riot, as Myers and crew have strung together another brilliant collection of one-liners and over the top, sometimes horribly disgusting, sight gags. The follow-up to 1997's video hit has Austin heading back to the 60s to track down his mojo, stolen by one of Dr. Evil's comically evil hapless henchmen. What's mojo? A multi-colored, stringy looking mess that makes Austin irresistible to the ladies. But the plot isn't so important. This is the Austin you know and love, only this time he's even more raw and hardcore.

It's clear that Myers was given a much larger budget to bring his vision to the screen after the runaway success of Austin Powers on video. The sets in Spy are much more vibrant and huge, the effects (yes, effects) are top-notch, and the pacing is completely nonstop. I had a perma-grin stuck on my face through the whole thing and will need to see it again just because the audience drowned out some lines with laughter.

Here Kitty Kitty Kitty Spy picks up with Austin taking a trip in a time machine back to the smashing 60s where, as we all know, he is a sexual dynamo. The time travel bits can get confusing, but as Basil Exposition of British Intelligence says, "Just sit back and enjoy yourself." Back in the 60s, Austin quickly draws the attention of his nemesis Dr. Evil. The hilarity begins as a patchwork parade of moronic henchmen attempt to wipe out Austin.

Still, the best reason to shell out your cash is that AP2 is clearly Dr. Evil's movie. If he's your favorite, you're in luck. Most important, we see him get some.

The film does lean a bit too heavily on gags from the first flick and some of the "Yeah, baby" schtick grows old fast. (When your Mammy starts saying "Yeah, baby," it's clearly tired, right?) Still, fans of the original will feel right at home with the budget destructo devices, the horrid teeth, and the clumsy bumblings of Austin himself. In a summer full of high concepts and big budget, AP2 is just the ticket.