A film review by Mark O'Hara Copyright © 1999 Mark O'Hara

In this often-advertised sequel to 'Austin Powers,' there's a scene in which Scott Evil (Seth Green), son of Dr. Evil, pretends to sneeze, emitting the word "Ripoff!" Oddly enough, it's the self-reflexive catchword of the film, from the opening moments with the James Bond theme and 'Star Wars' narrative script, to the wide-open-for-sequel ending. Worse, all kinds of products are forced upon the script and our eyes.

There's also no doubt the film will do well at the box office. A theater full of kids 12 through 18 or so - the buck-spending target audience - made this no secret. Clearly, what we demand is gross-out humor, and "The Spy Who Shagged Me' does this best. I have to hand it to Mike Myers: some of the grossest moments in comedy appear in this flick. Myers' alter-ego "Fat Bastard" is involved in fat jokes and poop jokes that had the audience roaring. And the part that made me laugh the loudest was a scatological tour-de-force.

The premise: not much of one. Austin Powers (Myers) is single and swinging again, but his nemesis Dr. Evil is out to thwart him however he can. Evil has a tiny clone he calls "Mini Me" (Verne Troyer), and the two of them time-travel back to 1969, their motive to steal the "mojo" - the sexual life-force - from the cryogenically-frozen Austin Powers. A minor drawback to this premise is that we miss Robert Wagner's excellent henchman, Number 2, for the rest of the film. Rob Lowe, however, does play a right-on imitation as Number 2 30 years younger.

You guessed it: Powers follows the evil-doers back to the stereotypical psychedelic decade. There he runs into Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham), an agent on Austin's side. The trouble is, even though Felicity inexplicably falls for the crooked-toothed Don Juan, there can't be any "shagging," as Powers' mojo has been stolen. What complicates the plot is Evil's plan to deploy a phallic-shaped laser to wipe out Washington D. C. Will Austin save the world? Beat Dr. Evil? Most importantly, will he get the girl?

As the title character, Mike Myers delivers on the flat-out silliness we've come to expect of him. He has a knack of making even badly written dialogue funny. The way he holds his mouth, the way he points his gaze… And portraying the Scottish "Fat Bastard" as well as Dr. Evil gets him triple the giggles. Something I found annoying, though, was how easy it is for Myers to get laughs; he's like the class clown who gets the attention he wants by making the stupidest and grossest comments imaginable!

Heather Graham performs well enough as Felicity Shagwell, though she does not distinguish herself. Part of the mediocrity is the way her character is written: she is far too compliant, a 'Laugh-In " dancer with lines. (A pointless motif takes the form of Austin dancing with these vibrantly-dressed groovers, by the way.)

Early on we see a schtick with Jerry Springer, in which Scott reveals his plight as the son of a madman bent on world domination. One of the film's funnier bits of satire, this scene shows off the conflict between father and son. It helps that Scott comes along on the time machine; the film is better for Seth Green's presence.

What makes "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" an average film at best? It's that we are able to predict too much. Sure, movies always rely on viewers' knowledge of culture and clichés; but there's just not enough originality here to work with. And when the film tries to get heady, we actually hear explanations of allusions that flew over the heads of most young viewers. The bottom line is ambivalence. If I believe that a film is worthwhile if it gives me a belly laugh, then I should recommend this 'Austin Powers' sequel. But I can't. Not that it matters, as I heard a teenager a few rows in back of me quip, "We have to buy this on video."

	Running Time: 117 Min | Rated PG-13 | US Release: June 11th | More >>

Related 'Austin Powers' Links:

• Official Site
• Movies to See in 1999: AP2
• Countdown to Austin Powers: TSWSM
• Upcomingmovies.com - Austin Powers 2

Double-O Behave!