Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Roughly the first half of this 95-minute sequel is even funnier, sillier, grosser, and more scatological than the original (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery), making one hope that the further adventures of Mike Myers’s James Bond/Matt Helm/Derek Flint send-up will add up to something like genuine satire. But after a while it becomes apparent that this movie is too eager to please, too willing to sacrifice its point of view toward its targets to sustain itself for the length of a feature. Gags about product plugs eventually turn into just more product plugs, irreverence for other movies gives way to slavish imitation of movies no less questionableMyers’s impersonation of an obese Scottish hit man smacks more of Eddie Murphy than of anything originaland the anything-goes approach becomes too scattershot to allow laughs to build. But the first 40-odd minutes are a delight. Written by Myers and Michael McCullers, and directed by Jay Roach; with Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, Mindy Sterling, and Rob Lowe. (JR)

This entry was posted in Featured Texts. Bookmark the permalink.