Saturday, August 26, 2023

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)

  It's hard to say whether this holds up.  It had such a stranglehold on pop culture for years after it came out.  Everybody tried to imitate this style, mostly poorly.  I'd really have to show it to someone who's never seen it to tell if it's actually funny today or if I'm just nostalgic.

In the late '60s, Austin Powers (Mike Meyers) was England's greatest living spy, fashion photographer, and style icon.  But in order to combat his arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil (Mike Meyers), Powers agrees to be cryogenically frozen until Dr. Evil resurfaces, which happens in 1997.  Now a man out of time, Powers struggles to adjust to changing social mores with his new partner, Vanessa (Elizabeth Hurley), while also trying to foil Dr. Evil's schemes.

It still works as a James Bond spoof, specifically the early Bonds: Connery and Moore.  I would actually really enjoy a sequel that makes fun of the Craig and Brosnan Bonds, that turn to something very serious played for laughs.  The humor is both incredibly sophomoric and really sharp and insightful.  It's a very difficult line to walk and like I said, I'm not sure it entirely holds up.  It feels so innocent and silly.  I watched this on my server and you're going to have to rent it because it is not streaming anywhere for free.  

No comments:

Post a Comment