'The Spy Who Shagged Me,' groovy but not the original

'The Spy Who Shagged Me,' groovy but not the original

By Rayya Makarim

JAKARTA (JP): Brace yourself for another psychedelic escapade
featuring that celebrated British spy who makes bad teeth a
fashion statement. The Saturday Night Live veteran, Mike Myers,
is back in Jay Roach's Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
This time around, however, Austin's got an improved set of whites
and a new partner, Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham) who from
the very beginning announces she is "Shagwell by name, shag very
well by reputation".

The film opens with a Star Wars-like crawl reminding the
audience of Austin's previous adventure. We join the
International Man of Mystery on his honeymoon with Vanessa
(Elizabeth Hurley) who we almost instantly discover is a "fem-
bot". Austin is devastated as he watches his loved one explode
into little pieces, and laments for a brief second before
rejoicing over the fact that he is single once more. Interrupting
his naughty plans is Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) who has invented a
time machine so he can travel back to the year 1969 and steal
from the still-frozen Austin the source of all his Powers: his
"mojo." Powers, suddenly impotent in 1999, follows Dr. Evil back
in time to regain his lost libido and destroy his enemy.

Back in 1969, Rob Lowe, who does an excellent impression of
Robert Wagner, plays Young Number Two, accompanied by other Evil
followers such as the loyal Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), and
the defiant Scottie (Seth Green). Additional bad guys include a
pint-sized clone of Dr. Evil called Mini-Me (Verne J. Troyer) and
a grossly obese Scot appropriately named Fat Bastard (Myers
again).

The screenplay, written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers,
produces a number of hilarious lines. In an effort to employ
product placement (or displacement), there's a scene where Dr.
Evil reprimands Scottie for not following his destructive nature:
"You're the Diet Coke of evil! Just one calorie! Not evil
enough!"

Nevertheless, the film is at its best when it pokes fun at
numerous movie conventions. Like most action films we know,
rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their
archenemies using complicated machinery that will allow their
captives at least 20 minutes to escape. With this in mind,
Scottie criticizes his father for never killing Austin when he
had the chance.

Another scene that mocks movie magic is one that involves
driving through what is supposed to be the English countryside
(obviously shot somewhere in LA). Here, Austin casually turns to
the camera and says, "It's amazing how much England looks in no
way like southern California." However, in spite of these clever
lines, one cannot help but feel that there is something missing
in this film, besides the title character's "mojo".

When Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was released
two years ago, it became a hit. Not only did it reach cult
status, but it also brought back 1970s lingo such as "groovy" and
"psychedelic" with a famous Austin "baby" added at the end. The
problem with the new Austin Powers is that it attempts to
recapture its predecessor's humor by recycling bits that made the
original so popular. Instead of exploring new ground, the writers
chose to stay with what they already had (i.e. reprises from part
one). It is not clear whether this decision was made because they
wanted to remain safe or that they were just short of ideas.
There is a tendency to suggest that the latter is true.

There are jokes and complete sequences that have already been
exhausted in the previous film. For example, once again, we have
Dr. Evil engaging in a rather long sequence of shushing his son;
once again, we hear Mustafa's (Will Ferrell) endless plea for
help after being badly injured; again, we see Austin prancing
around naked with his naughty bits skillfully hidden by other
objects.

Other scenes and lines are borrowed from various films such as
Independence Day, Jerry Maguire, Star Wars and Apollo 13. There
are also several cameos from Jerry Springer, Woody Harrelson,
Willie Nelson, Tim Robbins, plus a musical number by Burt
Bacharach and Elvis Costello. Amusing -- yes, relevant -- not
really.

Overall, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me still works,
even if it does lack the spontaneity that marked its first
success. It is definitely an enjoyable movie, but next time (if
there is one), the man who put the "grrr" in "swinger, baby" will
have to offer us a little bit more than the usual "That's groovy,
baby?"