New Line Home Video | Review by Dan Taylor
The
first AUSTIN POWERS
succeeded by mixing a gentle fish-out-of-water
tale with a spoof of every spy series from
James Bond and Harry Palmer to James Coburn's
Flint and Dean Martin's groovy Matt Helm.
The movie worked in large part due to our
familiarity with those films and the cuddly
performances from star Mike Meyers.
Yes, Austin Powers may have
been an over-sexed superspy, but he just
wanted to find love. Sure, Dr. Evil may
have been, well, evil, but he seemed more
misunderstood than anything.
That film's surprisingly successful
video release paved the way for the hugely
popular AUSTIN POWERS
IN THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME, a not-quite-as-funny
follow-up that did bring us the delightful
creation Mini-Me (Vern Troyer).
Unfortunately, the flick also
expanded the AP universe and took on broader
reference material - movies in general,
not just spy flicks - then sprinkled in
a liberal dose of 5th grade toilet humor.
Okay, that's not fair to 5th graders...
it was more like 3rd grade toilet humor.
My feelings aside, SHAGGED
ME did huge box office business and guaranteed
the continuation of the series.
Which brings us to AUSTIN
POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER. With this flick, the
series comes full circle and delivers a
finale (?) that's a fun, but unsatisfying,
rehash of all that has come before it.
Love SHAGGED ME's musical
parodies? Here Dr. Evil and Mini-Me rap
their way through "Hard Knock Life"
in a prison sequence that runs a bit too
long. Get a big laugh out of that flick's
silhouette sequence or penis-shaped radar
object? They're back here in some form,
too, including the inevitable, soon-to-be-dated,
celebrity appearances from the likes of
Ozzy Osbourne and clan.
The "story," yeah
sure we'll call it that, has something to
do with Dr. Evil and a Dutch hedonist named
Goldmember (Meyers again in the series'
weakest concept) crashing a giant gold meteor
into the polar cap to start a worldwide
flood. I know it comes off crass to bitch
about the plot of something called GOLDMEMBER,
but to quote Dr. Evil, "Throw me a
frickin' bone here."
Once again, the movie's best
moments belong to Dr. Evil and his gaggle
of associates played by Mindy Sterling (Frau
Farbissina), Robert Wagner (Number Two),
and Seth Green (as the suddenly too-evil
Scott Evil). As the good Doctor unveils
each plan, his schemes are met with an "oh
crap, not again" weariness that plays
well. Kudos, too, to Michael Caine who comes
off as a hell of a good sport. He knows
it's junk, but brings a lighthearted grace
to the surroundings.
