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Reviewed by Ivana Redwine
Tagline: "On July 26th the secret will be exposed." Length:
94 minutes Or consider the description given by Dr. Evil of his submarine: "It's long and hard and full of seamen." There's also a running gag about a spy who's a double agent, and he has a prominent, dark, hairy growth on his face. Get it? He's a mole with a mole. And there's a Jaguar with personalized license plate SHAGUAR, and another automobile with the plate GR8 SHAG. Also, there's a groovy party at Austin's pad, where he meets twin Japanese women named Fook Yu and Fook Mi. These are just a few examples of the brand of humor found in "Austin Powers in Goldmember." The movie is loaded with jokes about sexual organs, bodily functions, flatulence, etc., and the humor is generally sophomoric. Also, I believe the film is utterly without any redeeming social value. But the gags are hilarious, and I laughed loud and often as I watched it. Austin Powers is, of course, the randy British super-spy who is the central character in what has become a series of zany comedies that spoof James Bond movies. While I enjoyed both "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" (1997) and "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (1999), I liked "Austin Powers in Goldmember" (2002) even better than the two earlier films. I found the third movie in the series to be more consistently funny throughout than either of its predecessors. The basic plot in "Goldmember" is the same as in the two earlier Austin Powers movies: Austin's archenemy Dr. Evil is trying to obtain a diabolical device that will allow him to achieve world domination, and Austin must stop him. In all three films, Mike Myers plays both Austin Powers and Dr. Evil. As in a previous movie, Myers also portrays an obese Scotsman called Fat Bastard, who surfaces in "Goldmember" as a wrestler at the Asahi Sumo Arena in Tokyo. Finally, Myers plays a fourth role in "Austin Powers in Goldmember," namely that of the character known as Goldmember, a weird Dutchman who has lost his genitalia in an unfortunate smelting accident. As in a James Bond movie, there's always an attractive woman to play opposite Austin Powers, and in the earlier films this role was played by Elizabeth Hurley and Heather Graham. In "Goldmember," the role is taken by the African-American actress Beyoncé Knowles, who plays Foxxy Cleopatra. Foxxy's first appearance in the movie occurs when Austin time-travels back to 1975 and encounters her in Manhattan's Studio 69 disco. She wears her hair in a big afro and uses terms like "jive-turkey." A welcome new character in "Goldmember" is Nigel Powers (Michael Caine), Austin's father. He gets to deliver lines like, "I took a Viagra, and it stuck in me throat—I've had a stiff neck for hours!" But late in the movie, Nigel makes some startling revelations about his past that shed light on the historical connection between Austin and Dr. Evil. I liked the costuming, sets, and locations in the movie. The film is a treat visually, and I enjoyed the music as well. If you're the kind of person who finds silly comedies entertaining, I highly recommend "Austin Powers in Goldmember." The "Goldmember" DVD contains a lot of special features, including 15 deleted scenes and a commentary track with director Jay Roach and writer-actor Mike Myers. It's one of those Infinifilm DVDs, like "John Q" and "Rush Hour 2," which has an option where you can access the behind-the-scenes supplementary materials via pop-up prompts that appear while you're watching the movie. The DVD has a lot of other special features as well, and I've listed most of them below. Selected Special Features on the DVD: • Anamorphic
Widescreen (2.35:1) • Infinifilm
(Supplementary Materials Accessed Via Pop-Up Prompts) | ||||||||
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