Spoofs, verve and Austin Powers

Move over, Amor Powers. Austin Powers is back and raking it in at the box office.

I failed to see the first version of Austin Powers. But I thoroughly enjoyed its second installment. The currently showing Goldmember – an obvious spoof of Goldfinger, however, is even better (although just slightly) and funnier than Austin Powers II: The Spy Who Shagged Me.

In this third Austin Powers movie, Mike Myers plays four characters: the funny agent Austin Powers, the bald Dr. Evil, the sumo-wrestler Fat Bastard and the Dutch party-loving Goldmember.

With the help of his evil cohorts, Number Two (Robert Wagner), Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling) and Scott Evil (Seth Green), Dr. Evil threatens to destroy the world again unless the World Organization pays up. This time, Austin Powers doesn’t only have to stop Dr. Evil from harming the Earth and its continents, but also has to rescue his father, the groovy Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), who was abducted by – who else? – Dr. Evil’s men but, of course.

Interestingly enough, it was from a Michael Caine movie, The Ipcress File (1965), the first and the best of Caine’s three Harry Palmer films, where Mike Myers got his inspiration to do the Austin Powers character. Now, Michael Caine gets to play the father in this spoof.

Getting back Nigel Powers from the evil clutches of the organization, however, isn’t all that easy. Austin has to return to the ’70s – via time travel – where Nigel is happily being held captive in the swinging quarters of Goldmember. I say happily because Austin finds his father there carousing with four gorgeous blonde girls. Too bad, his attempt at rescuing his father fails and he has to go back to the future – in Tokyo to be exact. He brings along with him the sexy spy, Foxxy Cleopatra (a spoof of the popular ’70s movie-TV character Cleopatra Jones), played by Beyonce Knowles, the lead vocalist of Destiny’s Child (Mitch Valdes – if you’d care to know – spoofed Cleopatra Jones 25 years earlier in her then weekly action-comedy series, CleoFATra Jones).

Austin Powers (with a lot of help from Foxxy Cleopatra), of course, succeeds in stopping Dr. Evil from destroying the world and is also able to rescue his father, but there is an interesting twist in the end, which I can’t tell you.

Austin Powers in Goldmember is funnier compared to Austin Powers Part II (although, again, just slightly) because there are more spoofs here. One notable spoof even comes from Silence of the Lambs – that famous scene in the prison cell.

But what I enjoyed immensely here is the side story wherein Dr. Evil’s miniature clone, Mini-me (Verne Troyer), is deposed as the fair-haired boy by Dr. Evil’s son, the once good-natured Scott Evil. Here, you’ll appreciate the fine acting talent of Troyer – especially in the part where he switches camps and becomes a clone of Austin Powers.

Beyonce Knowles also contributes a lot to the success of Austin Powers. In her first film outing, the singer proves to be a good enough actress with a magnificent screen presence.

Ironically enough, it’s the character in the title role, Goldmember, which I like least. (Actually, I don’t like it at all.) Goldmember’s skin, you see, flakes – and he collects every bit of it, leaving viewers (this one included) quite repulsed in their seats. To think that Goldmember isn’t even funny.

Even more negative is the character of Fat Bastard because of his fart jokes. (He was less repugnant in Austin Powers II.)

A big come-on, however, is this whole cornucopia of big stars playing cameo roles in the film and this alone is already a delight to watch.

The verve of the two major characters – Austin Powers and Dr. Evil – unfortunately, seems to be less tame and on some occasions comes out even watered down. Maybe Mike Myers should stick to just playing two characters – three at the most – in the next version of Austin Powers.

Yes, after the huge success abroad of Austin Powers in Goldmember, you can bet your sweet life that there will be a fourth edition. Never mind that the gags are starting to run dry and some of the jokes are already rehashed.

Its creators will never run out of new situations to whet the appetite of the Austin Powers fans – just like with the introduction this time of Michael Caine as the father of Austin Powers. The possibilities are endless. In its next version – who knows? Austin Powers may just turn out to be the long-lost son of Amor Powers.