Amazon.com video review:
"I put the grrr in swinger, baby!" a deliciously randy Austin Powers
coos near the beginning of The Spy Who Shagged Me, and if the
imagination of Austin creator Mike Myers seems to have sagged a bit, his
energy surely hasn't. This friendly, go-for-broke sequel to 1997's Austin
Powers: International Man of Mystery finds our man Austin heading back
to the '60s to keep perennial nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers again) from blowing up
the world--and, more importantly, to get back his mojo, that man-juice that
turns Austin into irresistible catnip for women, especially American spygirl
Felicity Shagwell (a pretty but vacant Heather Graham). The plot may be
irreverent and illogical, the jokes may be bad (with characters named Ivana
Humpalot and Robin Swallows, née Spitz), and the scenes may run on too long,
but it's all delivered sunnily and with tongue firmly in cheek.
Myers's true
triumph, though, is his turn as the neurotic Dr. Evil, who tends to spout
the right cultural reference at exactly the wrong time (referring to his
moon base as a "Death Star" with Moon Units Alpha and Zappa--in 1969).
Myers teams Dr. Evil with a diminutive clone, Mini-Me (Verne J. Troyer),
who
soon replaces slacker son Scott Evil (Seth Green) as the apple of the
doctor's eye; Myers and Troyer work magic in what could plausibly be one of
the year's most affecting (and hysterically funny) love stories. Despite a
stellar supporting cast--including a sly Rob Lowe as Robert Wagner's younger
self and Mindy Sterling as the forbidding Frau Farbissina--it's basically
Myers's show, and he pulls a hat trick by playing a third character, the
obese and disgusting Scottish assassin Fat Bastard. Many viewers will reel in disgust
at Mr. Bastard's repulsive antics and the scatological bent Myers indulges
in, including one showstopper involving coffee and--shudder--a stool sample.
Still, Myers's good humor and dead-on cultural references win the day; Austin
is one spy who proves he can still shag like a minx. --Mark Englehart
Amazon.com video review:
"I put the grrr in swinger, baby!" a deliciously randy Austin Powers
coos near the beginning of The Spy Who Shagged Me, and if the
imagination of Austin creator Mike Myers seems to have sagged a bit, his
energy surely hasn't. This friendly, go-for-broke sequel to 1997's Austin
Powers: International Man of Mystery finds our man Austin heading back
to the '60s to keep perennial nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers again) from blowing up
the world--and, more importantly, to get back his mojo, that man-juice that
turns Austin into irresistible catnip for women, especially American spygirl
Felicity Shagwell (a pretty but vacant Heather Graham). The plot may be
irreverent and illogical, the jokes may be bad (with characters named Ivana
Humpalot and Robin Swallows, née Spitz), and the scenes may run on too long,
but it's all delivered sunnily and with tongue firmly in cheek.
Myers's true
triumph, though, is his turn as the neurotic Dr. Evil, who tends to spout
the right cultural reference at exactly the wrong time (referring to his
moon base as a "Death Star" with Moon Units Alpha and Zappa--in 1969).
Myers teams Dr. Evil with a diminutive clone, Mini-Me (Verne J. Troyer),
who
soon replaces slacker son Scott Evil (Seth Green) as the apple of the
doctor's eye; Myers and Troyer work magic in what could plausibly be one of
the year's most affecting (and hysterically funny) love stories. Despite a
stellar supporting cast--including a sly Rob Lowe as Robert Wagner's younger
self and Mindy Sterling as the forbidding Frau Farbissina--it's basically
Myers's show, and he pulls a hat trick by playing a third character, the
obese and disgusting Scottish assassin Fat Bastard. Many viewers will reel in disgust
at Mr. Bastard's repulsive antics and the scatological bent Myers indulges
in, including one showstopper involving coffee and--shudder--a stool sample.
Still, Myers's good humor and dead-on cultural references win the day; Austin
is one spy who proves he can still shag like a minx. --Mark Englehart
