Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

Director:

Jay Roach

Writer (WGA):

Mike Myers (written by)

Release Date:

2 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

If he were any cooler, he'd still be frozen, baby!

Plot:

A 1960's hipster secret agent is brought out of cryofreeze to oppose his greatest enemy into the 1990's where his social attitudes are glaringly out of place.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Secret Agent | Spy | 1960s | Spoof

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Mike Myers	...	Austin Powers / Dr. Evil
Elizabeth Hurley	...	Vanessa Kensington
Michael York	...	Basil Exposition
Mimi Rogers	...	Mrs. Kensington
Robert Wagner	...	Number Two
Seth Green	...	Scott Evil
Fabiana Udenio	...	Alotta Fagina
Mindy Sterling	...	Frau Farbissina
Paul Dillon	...	Patty O'Brien
Charles Napier	...	Commander Gilmour
Will Ferrell	...	Mustafa
Joann Richter	...	'60s Model
Anastasia Sakelaris	...	'60s Model (as Anastasia Nicole Sakelaris)
Afifi Alaouie	...	'60s Model
Monet Mazur	...	Mod Girl

Also Known As:

Austin Powers (USA) (working title)
Austin Powers - Das Schärfste, was Ihre Majestät zu bieten hat (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for nudity, sex-related dialogue and humor.

Runtime:

94 min | Turkey:68 min (TV version)

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SX | Netherlands:12 (VHS/DVD rating) | Netherlands:6 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Finland:S (DVD rating) | France:U | Germany:12 | Iceland:L | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34834)

Filming Locations:

Imperial Palace Hotel & Casino - 3535 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Capella International

Trivia:

When Austin enters the "Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swingers Club" he says, "It's my happenin', baby, and it freaks me out!" This is the same line delivered by Z-Man in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) when he enters the party scene. Furthermore, the same song is playing on the soundtrack as the line is delivered: "Incense and Peppermints" by The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Mike Myers makes the connection even more explicit by using Charles Napier, who appeared in the "Dolls" movie, in the following scene.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Austin asks Vanessa which side of the bed she wants (upon arriving at the hotel in Vegas) Vanessa replies that the only reason they are sharing a room is to keep up the "context" that they are a married couple. Vanessa should actually have said "pretext." Considering her background/education in languages and her use of English throughout the film - she would not have made this error.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Evil: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my underground lair. I have gathered here before me the world's deadliest assassins, and yet each of you has failed to kill Austin Powers. That makes me angry. And when Dr. Evil gets angry, Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset. And when Mr. Bigglesworth gets upset... people DIE!

Movie Connections:

References "Happy Days" (1974)

Soundtrack:

Carnival

This should have been done years ago!!

In a time when we are almost constantly barraged with goofy spoof films, it's amazing that no one had come out with a spoof of the James Bond films until 1997. Those movies have been coming out and just BEGGING to be spoofed since the early 60s, and Mike Meyers is the one who finally steps forward to do what simply has to be done, and he does a wonderful job at it.

Fans of the James Bond films will have a blast looking for all of the allusions to the old Bond films and trying to determine which Bond film is being spoofed at any given time, but it's important to keep in mind that the film pokes fun at the Bond series in good taste. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is never disrespectful to the films that it makes fun of, which is probably the single most important thing about a spoof film that makes it good. This is why the Scary Movies, as just a couple of examples, were such dismal, hideous failures. They try to be funny by viciously making fun of all kinds of movies, and end up looking stupid because they have such a nonexistent right to do that. You can't make a stupid, stupid movie and make fun of a lot of great movies (and some not so great, admittedly) and try to pretend to be respectable at the end of it all. That's the recipe for a crapfest.

While it's true that a lot of the comedy in the first Austin Powers film is slapstick and obviously contrived, I think it should be a testament to the quality of the film that it is still so funny! We see all of the traditional Bond clichés in this movie, such as the usual one-liners (which are made fun of extensively and with spectacular effect here), the fancy cars, the goofy cockiness, the teeth-grinding theme song, and the occasionally inexplicable popularity with the women (this allusion makes most sense when compared to those Bond films that starred Roger Moore).

The plot involves a rivalry between Dr. Evil, an evil mastermind bent on world domination, and Austin Powers, a mockish caricature of James Bond, bent on stopping Dr. Evil's world domination schemes. Meyers portrays both characters with hilarious skill, making Austin an awkward womanizer with some serious dental problems, and Dr. Evil an evil schemer with a hilarious cutesy side. Neither character really seems like they belong in the role that they serve (as a spy and a doctor of evil), which is where a lot of the comedy comes in. There is also, of course the fact that they both spend most of the movie 30 years in their future, completely out of touch with the new world that they live in.

This is not a movie to be taken seriously, and quite frankly, I can't understand all of these reviews that I've read on the IMDb that are constantly complaining that Austin Powers is so cheesy or so childish. I've heard this same complaint about lots of other movies that are also not meant to be taken seriously, but this one is especially confusing. I trust that all you people complaining about how childish Austin Powers is realize that it is a spoof based on a whole series of movies that are also not meant to be taken seriously, right? I mean, that would be a hell of an oversight to miss that little detail. Austin Powers is one of the most refreshing comedies to come along in years, and it's sad that there are so many people who completely missed the boat on this one just because they pretend that the movie is something that it's not and was never meant to be. It's true that the movie is immensely immature and that it has unfortunately little re-watch value (one of the biggest problems with the film), but the quality of the comedy is unmistakable.