This week my friend and I returned to the early 2000’s for Austin Powers in Goldmember. Though I’ve been meaning to experience this popular series for a while now, this was my first time watching an Austin Powers movie. This spoof of the James Bond movie Goldfinger was a great introduction into the world of comedy and chaos that follows this International Man of Mystery. The full summary of the movie can be found on Wikipedia. Dr. Evil, the antagonist—in case you weren’t sure—conspires with the bizarre Goldmember to kidnap Nigel Powers and use time travel to take over the world. Just as we returned to the early 2000’s, Austin Powers returns to 1975 to reunite with an old flame, Foxxy, and stop Dr. Evil and Goldmember from following through with their evil plan.
This movie is 98 minutes of crude comedy and witty innuendos. Personally I enjoy a good laugh, but I’ll let you make of that what you will. To give a preview as to the types of jokes you can find in this movie, I will tell you that the name of the evil device being used to destroy the world is called Preparation H. It’s a real cream of the crop invention if you ask me. And that joke is why I’ve never been asked to write any screenplays.
Besides the jokes, this movie has a pretty interesting cast. Until about five minutes ago, I was completely unaware that Mike Myers played four different characters in the movie. Now, whether that is a testament to his exceptional acting skills or evidence of me not paying close enough attention to the movie, I cannot be sure. But it is very interesting nonetheless. Another notable actress on the cast list is Beyonce Knowles who plays the savvy and street-smart Foxxy.
One scene in the movie that caught my attention involves Austin, Mike Myers, interrogating Dr. Evil, Mike Myers, from outside of a transparent maximum-security prison cell to gain information about the location of Preparation H. Dr. Evil states that their arrangement must be quid pro quo and that his condition is relocation to a regular prison. This may sound familiar, as the scene is an imitation of a scene in Silence of the Lambs. It turns out that the movie makes all kinds of references to movies, songs, and TV shows.
Finally, I want to leave you with a quick story because I’ve been dying to tell someone. As soon as I heard Dr. Evil’s voice, I knew I’d heard it before. It reminded me of this Discover commercial that I had heard on Spotify all too many times. Unfortunately, assuming it was actually his voice, there are 4 Austin powers movies so only a 25% that the scene in the commercial would be from this movie. Long story short—it was!! I was proud of myself for making the connection so here is the commercial for reference:
Hannah,
First of all, I am so glad you and your friend decided to check out this movie because it is one of my all time favorites. I remember watching it when I was young and laughing at everything when I probably didn’t even know what half the jokes meant. Anyways, I loved your overall analysis on it and great catch on recognizing Dr. Evils voice! 🙂
– olivia
Hi Hannah,
This movie is so iconic! The ironic and somewhat cringe jokes are what makes it funny and memorable. It’s a great movie to watch with friends!
I feel so awkward that I have yet to watch the movie, but Izzy and Olivia have! I need to watch the movie, and enjoy it because from the sound of it it’s an iconic movie and I am missing out! What you wrote about Mike Myers playing four separate roles in the movie blew my mind. Thats so cool, I have heard if actors playing two different roles in the same movie, but never four! Definitely watching this movie soon and watching out for Mike Myers playing four individual characters!