Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is the kind of fall-out-of-your-seat-laughing comedy that only comes around on the rarest of occasions. Hilarious, amusing, sexy and maybe even shagadelic. Austin Powers is the comic convention of 1999, with acting so uproariously funny, and a script that delivers punch line after punch line at a rate so fast that you miss much of the movie while trying to stop laughing.
A sequel in the truest of ways, Austin Powers' new adventures follow those of his hit, Austin Powers: Foreign Man of Mystery, in 1997. Despite his previous foray into space at the end of the 1997 movie, Dr Evil (Mike Myers in one of three boisterously entertaining performances in this film) is back on earth in 1999, and more evil than ever. He plans to take over the planet and rid it of Austin Powers (Mike Myers), his enemy. To do this, he had to fly back to 1969 from his new space base, a Starbucks store, in 1999, and steal Austin Powers' mojo. Given that this seems to be a film that strongly spoofed Star Wars, it is believed that this mojo is the "power" equivalent and can be easily removed from a frozen body. Understanding that leads to the obvious point that it is essential to have a complete and utter suspension of truth.
Naturally, when you have a spy as sexy as Austin Powers himself, the ladies obey. We meet Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), Ivana Humpalot (3rd Rock from the Sun, Kristen Johnson of TV), Robin Swallows (Gia Carides) and a few other beautiful young women in this instalment. The basic plot summary of their positions is that they all work for Dr Evil, except for Felicity, who is a secret agent.
Moreover, this development is full of cameos from some of the most notable names. At some point, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Tim Robbins, and Jerry Springer all poke into the film, most of them only delivering one of the countless jokes.
What gives comedy to Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is the spoofs on stuff people will relate to every day, and classic films that have always begged to be lampooned in this fashion. Also, if it were a plot-oriented work rather than a funny compilation of comedy, there are the obvious references to James Bond that would be the central focus of the film. And to top it off, there is a moment just slightly changed from the cult classic of John Watters and Pink Flamingos.
Mike Myers is suitable for these roles, perhaps due to his writing credit on the film also in large part. The perfect complement to Myers is Heather Graham, offering the presence of an actress capable of delivering the jokes and humor as well as everyone else, with a sexual appeal that makes her Austin Powers' Bond Girl. This is never better illustrated than a scene with an obese character known as Fat Bastard (the third role of Myers) that puts her in bed. The two of them light up the screen and turn an utterly gross, uncalled-for scene into a funny one that sticks with you for a long time, only slightly nauseating.
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, spoofing everything in sight, keeping nothing back and undoubtedly has earned its title as a classic spoof comedy.
