But the aardvark simply said "no" (Austin Powers - International Man Of Mystery (DVD))

Member Name: shanecahill

Product:	Austin Powers - International Man Of Mystery (DVD)
Date:	07/12/01 (226 review reads)
Rating:

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Quirky humour, Mike Myers (twice!) and a spoof of James Bond... yup I think I've found my perfect movie! Well, not exactly, but I like it.

Plot
This is the story of international man of mystery Austin Powers (Mike Myers), a 1960s super-suave detective. Big hair, terrible teeth and every woman's dream, he is hero-worshipped. His arch enemy is Dr Evil (emm... Mike Myers!), a balding evil mastermind with his faithful cat Mr. Bigglesworth by his side. As Austin chases him through a nightclub, Dr Evil has himself cryogenically frozen and sent into space via a huge statue of Big Boy.

Cut to the 90's, where Big Boy re-enters our atmosphere and lands somewhere in Nevada. We soon find out that Austin has also been frozen just in case such a situation arose, and is now being thawed out. He is joined by Vanessa Kensington (Liz Hurley... oh yes) on his quest to stop Dr. Evil who has hijacked two nuclear warheads and is threatening to destroy the world.

Austin soon realizes that the 90's is very different from the love-and-peace world of the 60's, and he must learn a lot of lessons about how to adjust to real relationships, 90's dress sense and dental hygiene.

Dr. Evil also has a shock in store for him, as he discovers the frozen semen he left behind has been used to create an heir. Scott Evil (Seth Green) is a rebellious teenager who finds bonding with his father more than a little difficult, especially as he is expected to take over the evil family business.

How will they get on? Aaahhhh, the suspense is killing me!

Writing
This film has some shining examples of the jokes that made Mike Myers famous on Saturday Night Live, and such films as Wayne's World 1 and 2 and So I Married An Axe Murderer. For your pleasure here are a few of my favourite quotes:

Austin: Only sailors use condoms.
Vanessa: Not in the nineties Austin!
Austin: They should the filthy buggers, th
ey go from port to port.

That is the kind of joke that everyone can laugh at, but Austin Powers also has a quirky side to it, possibly stemming from Mike Myer's love of Monty Python. For example:

Austin: I fear only two things in this world. Nuclear war is one of them.
Basil: And the other?
Austin: Carnies. Circus folk. Smell like cabbage, you know. Small hands.

I shortened that quote so you won't get bored but you get the gist. To be honest, I have watched this film an unhealthy amount of times and I basically know the script off by heart (and my Dr. Evil impression ain't too bad either!). The script has some absolute gems, and some jokes you will never tire of. There are a few dud jokes, but hey! It's comedy, there are always one or two weak ones.

Acting
Well, nobody can fault Mike Myers performance on Austin AND Dr. Evil, with perfect timing and great physical performance even though he's no Jim Carrey.

On the other hand, there is an awful lot lacking as usual with Liz Hurley's performance. her acting is so wooden you would swear she'd been cut from the nearest forest. But then, she didn't get the part for her acting (-;

Far better is the performance of Seth Green, who delivers a classic performance. This is partly helped by some of the best lines in the film, despite a small enough part. Yet, nobody can fault his delivery and timing.

Overall
I love it. There's a recommendation and a half! This is one of my favourite fims to pop on, grab some popcorn and just laugh at. Perfect for lazy Saturday nights. While I usually prefer comedies that are less laugh out loud, and have a bit more depth like American Beauty and Being John Malkovich, it's always good to have films like this and the Airplane! movies about after a long day. A terrible performance from Liz Hurley cannot take away from a truly brilliant piece of comedy.

If I haven
't convinced you yet, here's one last quote:

Vanessa: That's you in a nutshell, isn't it Austin?
Austin: No, this is me in a nutshell. (Starts acting like he's stuck in a shell). Help! I'm stuck in a nutshell! What kind of shell has a nut like this?

Comedy at it's finest!!!!

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