Film Review: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

James Bond films were parodied from the very beginnings of the series. The most successful parody, however, happened three decades later with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. The achievement of that film is even greater considering that was initially a box office flop. It took nostalgic Boomers that, unlike theatre-going teenagers, had known original Bond films and understood its jokes to turn it into massive hit on home video. In two years time Austin Powers became part of popular culture and the sequel was inevitable. In 1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me not only became proper box office hit but actually managed to become first Hollywood title to dethrone The Phantom Menace from the top of American box office list.

The plot begins in 1999 when villainous Dr. Evil (played by Michael Myers) returns from space in order to continue with his plans of world conquest. His main henchman, Number Number 2 (played by Robert Wagner) has built a time machine that would help Dr. Evil get rid of the main impediment to his plans, British secret agent Austin Powers (also played by Myers). Dr. Evil, together with his miniature clone Mini-Me (played by Verne Troyer) goes back in time and steals Austin’s “mojo”. In 1999 Austin suddenly finds himself powerless without “mojo”, so he is forced to go back in time and stop Dr. Evil. He arrives in 1969 and gets help from American secret agent Felicity Shagwell (played by Heather Graham).

Expectations for The Spy Who Shagged Me were high. The previous film was actually very good and Myers, who also co-wrote the script with Michael McCallers, has proven himself as a immensely talented comedian. Dependable Jay Roach was again working as a director. However, just with so many popular films, it turned out that sequel is likely to be of significantly lower quality than the original. The Spy Who Shagged Me wasn’t an exception. On one hand there are some hilarious scenes and those that would be appreciate by true James Bond fans, quality of humour in general has decreased. Cast features some valuable additions – Verne Troyer as Mini-Me and Heather Graham, who is much better Austin Girl than Elizabeth Hurley whose character from previous film is dispatched early in “retcon” fashion. Myers, however, decided to further demonstrate his acting ability by creating the third character he would play. Fat Bastard, however, doesn’t add much to the film except opportunity for some weak toilet humour. Many of the jokes are repetitive, and culture clash between 1960s and 1990s – a motive that worked so well in previous film – is here all but ignored. Title sequences and music numbers take too much of the running time, often showing decreasing creativity of the film’s authors. While The Spy Who Shagged Me is a watchable, it is going to be disappointing to all those who had their expectations unrealistically high based on the quality of International Man of Mystery.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

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