In this sequel to 1997’s psychedelic spy spoof, Austin Powers:International Man of Mystery, a sexually obsessed secret agent must travel back to the permissive ’60s to save the world and recover his stolen “mojo” (male potency) so that he can “shag” (have sex with) anything registering a pulse. Along for the ride is barely-dressed CIA operative Felicity Shagwell, who shares Powers’ insatiable, immoral appetite for kinky behavior. Quite a pair.
During the opening credits, Powers prances through a hotel lobby naked. Things deteriorate from there. Jokes about lesbianism and oral sex. Obscene gestures. Scatological sight gags. A bizarre ménage à trois. Also, a phallic rocket inspires a string of slang references to male genitalia.
Women (including a temptress named Ivana Humpalot) are either objects of lust, victims of violence or both. One attractive female—a robot—explodes. Another becomes a human shield for a thrown knife, a flurry of bullets, a bazooka and a long fall out of a window. Insulting.
The film earns legitimate laughs when it skewers pop culture or examines the off-kilter fatherly yearnings of its megalomaniacal villain, Dr. Evil. But clever satire aside, there is far too much sex, profanity and gross-out humor.
Asked by USAWeekend where comedy is headed, Myers said, “Naughtiness.” The first film at least had a few moments of conscience regarding sexual ethics. Not here. This Austin Powers (PG-13) not only glamorizes casual sex, but makes promiscuity seem heroic.
