Austin Powers . Tucson Weekly . 05-15-97

Austin Powers

DIRECTED BY: M. Jay Roach

REVIEWED: 05-15-97

Saturday Night Live castaway Mike Myers is in his element as "International Man of Mystery" Austin Powers, a swinging '60s fashion photographer by day, mod undercover British Intelligence agent by night. He's also his own arch nemesis, Dr. Evil, who catapults the action 30 years into the future by launching himself into outer space in a vessel shaped like the Big Boy, in which he and his cat are cryogenically frozen. This psychedelic romp through the spy-TV conventions of the '60s is like a Monkees episode choreographed by Michael Jackson on acid, with a bit of Get Smartness and James Bondage co-opted to hilarious effect. It's not a spoof, really. It's just Mike Myers having a blast veering between sophisticated and juvenile as an unfrozen swinger chasing down evil and free love in the inhospitable '90s. For revelers in cameo appearances and pop culture references of days of yore, there's only one thing you can say about this satirical carnival of cheap laughs: "Smashing, baby!"

--Mari Wadsworth

Full Length Reviews
Austin Powers
Austin Powers

Other Films by M. Jay Roach
A Mystery
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Film Vault Suggested Links
Porky's
Dumb and Dumber
Half Baked

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