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Austin Powers
to The Spy Who Shagged Me was a leap much like Rocky
to Rocky III. The
pieces were the same. The
players were the same. But
there was a definite upturn in style and production values.
I would make the argument that Rocky was superior to
its sequel, but in Austin Powers’ case, I would say that the
sequel was a step up. The second film scored on both the iconography of old spy movies
and by topping its own inventions.
Liz Hurley was perfect for the idea of this series, but Heather
Graham took the coyness out of the sexuality. The opening dance sequence in the first film is terrific, but Dr.
Evil and Mini-Me’s “Just The Two Of Us” was inspired genius. Robert Wagner as Number Two in the original
was very clever, but Rob Lowe doing Robert Wagner
in Shagged Me was, again, inspired.
Where do
you go from there?
I don’t know. And I don’t think that Mike Myers and
Company really knew either.
They added Michael Caine… a great idea.
And they added another genre to the mix with Foxy Cleopatra,
introducing Beyonce Knowles, who may well become a
movie star. They even
try to spin Mini-Me. But
none of these additions really play, because the movie is
too busy, this time, reflecting on itself.
New analogy. Goldmember is to The Spy Who Shagged
Me as Superman III is to Superman II. The obvious difference here is that there was
a change of director in the Superman series and Jay Roach
has stayed the course – and improved as a director - through
the Powers series. But Superman was a “straight” movie.
Superman II, with parts shot by Dick Donner
and parts shot by Richard Lester, was a perfect combination
of Donner’s respectful, smart, sly style and Lester’s comedic
bent. Superman
III was all about Donner and as a result, it was trying
too hard to be funny.
I was reminded
the other day of Fat Bastard’s “I eat because I hate myself
and I hate myself because I eat” run in Shagged Me.
There is nothing that subtle in Goldmember.
Same with “Just The Two of Us.”
It was brilliant because it was gentle at the core.
Dr. Evil really did love his clone.
Goldmember’s
ad campaign gets the tone right… it is all on the level of
getting hit in the balls with a globe.
Heeeee-larious! Michael Caine is wonderful and wasted,
because the film never settles down to really work that relationship.
He’s Powers’ father because they both chase girls and
they both wear Caine’s glasses from The Ipcress Files.
But in the Austin Powers I’ve liked so much
before, they would have had quirks. Caine might have slept with Foxy Cleopatra
while Austin listened outside, relegated to child status. And Powers Sr. might well have invited him
in for a 3-way… gross, but fitting the tone of a movie that
does jokes about pulling things out of your ass.
And that’s just one dumb idea.
But the point
is that the franchise has succeeded on the joke and then the
spin on the joke and then the spin on that joke.
Goldmember is so self-aware that it has the
feel of a performance by a six-year-old at a party that is
impressive and charming at first, but which quickly becomes
a grating imposition, no matter how skilled the child.
ADDED
NOTE: There is a
90 second gag in Goldmember, which is inspired. Unfortunately, it never goes anywhere and kind
of misses a golden opportunity.
I don’t want to explain further, as not to ruin the
surprise(s). But someone should have been watching the last
act of Blazing Saddles if they really wanted to see
how clever and truly integrated this kind of thing could be.
ONE
MORE NOTE: I tend to think
that the last minute nature of Goldmember is a big part of
the reason it is so weak.
The movie came together in a hurry after Myers’ debacle
over the Dieter movie got settled. They wrote, shot and cut it in a hurry. It doesn’t show in the production. But Mike Myers is obsessive about his
characters and I think another six months of writing on the
script would have actually taken this film to the next level.
Some of the lazy choices would have been fixed and
probably taken inspired turns.
But alas, no. And in the end, this film is white-as-a-sheet
pale in comparison to Undercover Brother, but will
be a much bigger hit because people like to see the joke coming
as it chugs around the bend… and Goldmember is right
where you’d expect it.
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