Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
Mike Myers has certainly been pegged as one of the most misunderstood comedy geniuses of the last 20 years. Known as a guy who specializes in somewhat juvenile, childish humor but yet is said to take it VERY seriously, Myers is one of the odder success stories to come out of Saturday Night Live, a diminutive man child with obvious talent but whom seems fixated on certain subcultures and character types with what appears to be limited possibilities for fresh material, as seen by his habit of recycling gags from previous films and even previous characters (a Wayneâs World bit that was more cute than funny the first time gets redone here in this movie), but on the other hand, Myers has openly expressed having had a heavy influence from Peter Sellers (no comedy lightweight by any means and a name rarely mentioned as such by todayâs comedy stars) and even going so far as to adopting Sellersâ penchant for playing multiple roles in the same film (albeit far less convincing than the chameleon like Sellers) along with showing a level of educated sophistication in his writing when at his very best that is hard to dispute by any means possible. This 1997 release not only stands as his comedy masterwork, it kicked off what turned out to be a major pop culture phenomenon in its own right, spawning t-shirts, lunchboxes, and the incorporation of the filmâs dialogue into some of our most popular lingo and catchphrases (including random usage on Howard Sternâs radio show) and was followed up by a very good second film and a tiresome third effort which burnt the whole thing out completely and put an end to its effect upon our society. Itâs a true anomaly, as itâs one of the best comedies of the 90s while still showcasing both Myersâ best and worst qualities as a comedy talent, and yet it manages to retain a heavy amount of lovable charm and freshness when it comes to the gags (aside from the aforementioned Wayneâs World bit). It also lays the basic groundwork for the series itself establishing the style and introducing the core group of actors / characters that would roll with the series to the bitter end even as the sequels brought in other regulars like Mini Me and Fat Bastard. The Powers concept in and of itself has been described as a straight up spoof of the spy movie genre (most notably James Bond), but a closer look reveals a fixation on Myersâ part with 60s psychedelic cinema and culture as well, most notably of the British variety, and actually takes entire pages out of films that even at that time were considered competent spoofs of the Bond series, including the wacked out 1967 acid trip adaptation of Casino Royale (which this borrows very heavily from and starred Sellers as an Austin type character), the James Coburn Flint movies, The Avengers, and even non spy related trippy entries such as Russ Meyerâs Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls (which the opening scene borrows directly from). In the two main lead roles, Myers admirably does his homage to Sellers by playing both Powers and the main villain, Dr. Evil. Austin as a comic character is interesting in many ways. Grotesque in appearance especially with his rotten teeth, but still charmingly funny in a shaggy, bizarre way, Myers succeeds in making himself feel so âlived inâ the character that playing him and taking on his mannerisms would probably be second nature to him in real life as well. Portrayed as being (somehow) irresistible to women and so super slick that he never becomes distressed in even the most dire situations, along with an almost childlike purity of innocence that he gets the maximum amount of mileage out of, Austin became the preeminent goofball movie character of his time, with enough likability to keep audiences rooting for him and coming back for more. But then there is Myers as Dr. Evil, easily the funnier of the two roles and whose scenes inspire the most laughs and unpredictable anarchic fun. Essentially an insane hybrid of several characters including most notably Donald Pleasenceâs interpretation of Bond megavillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in You Only Live Twice and even that of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, whose temper tantrums Myers reportedly used to witness on a weekly basis, just the very notion of subverting your typical villain bent on world domination into having to deal with everyday problems and events works brilliantly, with ideas such as having Dr. Evil (frozen for 30 years before reemerging in the present day) being so completely out of touch that he has no idea of modern day events and developments, or finding out to his surprise that he has a lazy, good for nothing son and must now try to establish a paternal relationship that puts him in an awkward position in his Evil Underground Lair coming off as being executed so perfectly that one wonders why the more legit Bond movies didnât try more serious variations of these ideas to try and make their villains seem more complex. Many of the other gags take great joy in laying out the clichĂ©s and foundations of both spy movies and psychedelia (including trippy, groovy, yet pointless âscene breaksâ with Austin and his band). As for the rest of the cast, we get Elizabeth Hurley (easily the hottest out of any of Englandâs supermodels that they can call their own) as Austinâs partner and requisite âmain girlâ for this movie, even as they engage in a relationship with serious romantic overtones that would come to a head in the opening scene of the next entry, with Mimi Rogers playing her mother and Austinâs old partner in the 60s. Then thereâs the âcore groupâ who would hang together through the whole trilogy, including Michael York as the ever smiling boss of British Intelligence, Basil Exposition; Robert Wagner sporting an eyepatch and an inferiority complex as the number two man in the Evil Organization, aptly named Number Two; Seth Green hilariously essaying the aforementioned rebellious punk son of Dr. Evil named Scott; Mindy Sterling as the hatchet faced militant Frau Farbissina; Will Ferrell as the super inept henchman Mustafa, along with a handful of almost all hilarious cameos by luminaries such as Carrie Fisher, Tom Arnold, and Burt Bacharach. With enough colorful comedic excitement to keep fans happy even if theyâre not schooled on the cinematic subjects the film intends to skewer, thereâs enough laugh out loud, hit em out of the park funny moments to firmly establish this as a classic in the field of comedy even while looking back on the amazing popularity this entire franchise retained before playing itself out and now becoming sort of a 90s retro item itself, albeit one that succeeds even today at making us all laughâŠ
10/10