Austin Powers : L'Espion qui m'a tirée

... 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

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.

Picture this: you're home with your friends or family and you have to pick a film. Nothing's really looking good and you just want to stick something on to have a good laugh. Here comes, the Austin Powers trilogy! Out of the three films, this one is one of the funnier instalments. Mike Myers gives a great performance as always, and Rob Lowe gives a great performance (although a very short one). I love the British 60's vibe, since I'm a big vintage fan. It's a good film to put on when you're having a bad day and just need a laugh. No wonder Austin Powers is such an icon nowadays!

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 believe that the general consensus is that the first Austin Powers movie is the best of the bunch. I happen to disagree (as you can probably tell from my one-line-summary). I feel that the second film actually improves on the first film by adding a few new characters and generally cutting loose on the humor making it even more bizarre and funny than in the first film. I don't expect people to agree but at least hear me out as to why I think the second film is better.

As I said a few new characters have been added to the roster and we get to see some older characters in new and exiting ways. The best addition to the character rooster is Mini-Me, Doctor Evil's clone, played brilliantly by Verne Troyer. Not only is he hilariously funny but he also brings out a different side to Doctor Evil which I found to be extremely funny. On a related note I found Doctor Evil to be much more interesting as a character in the second film than in the first. Probably because the Austin character had to be established in the first film. Second there is the addition of Fat Bastard, played by Myers himself. A lot of people have responded negatively to Fat Bastard but I found him quite funny in a very weird way. Mike Myers definitely took a step up the weird ladder when he came up with him. Elizabeth Hurley is written out of the script very early in the film and instead Heather Graham is introduced as Felicity Shagwell. Heather Graham is not as strong as Hurley was as Austin's love interest but she remains nice as eye-candy and what can you expect more than that. Seth Green pretty much reprises his role from the first film. Nothing much to come after there. The supporting cast is pretty much the same as in the first film except this time we get to see Number Two in a young version played by Rob Lowe who does an uncanny imitation of Robert Wagner. Mindy Sterling and Michael York returns in their respective parts as well. There are also quite a few cameos in the film. Including Tim Robbins, Woody Harrelson, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and many more.

The film still spoofs Bond obviously and the title in itself is of course a reference to The Spy Who Loved Me and once again I find that no-one does it better than Myers. After the success of the first I think they gave Myers free reigns because a lot of the stuff in this film is pretty far out. An example could be the hilarious fight between Austin and Mini-Me and an equally funny scene in a tent. I won't reveal any more than that. Another thing is that the overall effects seem much more polished this time around which is probably also caused by the success of the previous film.

The story is pretty much non-existent which I found to be an improvement over the previous film which actually attempted to incorporate a story rather than just be all out fun.

All in all I think it is a matter of taste. Either you prefer the first or you prefer the second but you should definitely give this film a try just for the heck of it.

All in all

7/10