| Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jay Roach |
| Written by | |
| Based on | Characters by Mike Myers |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ueli Steiger |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | George S. Clinton |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Release date |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $33 million[1] |
| Box office | $312 million[2] |
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is a 1999 Americanspycomedy film directed byJay Roach.[3] It is the second installment in theAustin Powers film series, afterInternational Man of Mystery. It stars franchise co-producer and writerMike Myers asAustin Powers,Dr. Evil, andFat Bastard. The film also starsHeather Graham,Michael York,Robert Wagner,Seth Green,Mindy Sterling,Rob Lowe, andElizabeth Hurley.[4] The film's title is a play on theJames Bond filmThe Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The film centers on Dr. Evil returning again from cryostasis to strike at Powers from the past, using a time machine to remove Powers'smojo and deprive him of whatever qualities made him an effective secret agent so he can no longer interfere with Evil's plans.
The most commercially successful movie in theAustin Powers series, the film grossed around $312 million in worldwide ticket sales, taking more money during its opening weekend than the entire box office proceeds of its predecessor. It was nominated at the72nd Academy Awards forBest Makeup (Michèle Burke andMike Smithson).[5][6] It is followed byAustin Powers in Goldmember (2002).
On his honeymoon in 1999, time-displaced 1960s British spyAustin Powers discovers that his wife,Vanessa Kensington, is actually afembot controlled byDr. Evil. After Vanessa self-destructs, Austin briefly grieves before realizing he is single again and can havesex without commitment. Meanwhile, aNATO monitoring facility observes Dr. Evil's return from space, where he appears onThe Jerry Springer Show to reunite with his estranged son, Scott, who is frustrated to see his father, and a fight ensues between multiple people on air.
At Dr. Evil'sSpace Needle lair in Seattle, he is presented with a dwarf clone of himself, whom he namesMini-Me. Dr. Evil outlines a plan to time travel back to the 1960s and steal Austin'smojo, the source of his sexual appeal. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me travel to 1969, meeting a younger Number Two andFrau Farbissina.Fat Bastard, another henchman of Dr. Evil, extracts Austin's mojo from his frozen body at theMinistry of Defence (MOD). British intelligence warns Austin that one of Dr. Evil's agents is after him. The agent, Ivana Humpalot, seduces Austin but decides not to kill him. After they have sex, Austin discovers he has lost his mojo and isimpotent.
The MOD sends Austin to 1969 using a time-travelingVolkswagen New Beetle. Austin arrives at a party in his London pad. With the assistance ofCIA agentFelicity Shagwell, Austin escapes an assassination attempt by Dr. Evil's operatives. Austin and Felicity are pursued by Mustafa, another of Dr. Evil's henchmen, but manage to subdue him. Mustafa reveals the existence of Dr. Evil's volcano lair. Before he can divulge its location, Mini-Me causes him to fall from a cliff.
Examining photographs from the crime scene, Austin discovers Fat Bastard stole his mojo. Fat Bastard presents Austin's mojo to Dr. Evil, who drinks some of it and has sex with Frau Farbissina. Scott arrives through the time portal. Dr. Evil announces he will hold the world ransom by threatening to destroy cities using a giant laser, which is located on the Moon. Austin and Felicity get to know each other, but when Felicity propositions him for sex, he turns her down because of his lost mojo.
Under MOD instructions to implant ahoming device into Fat Bastard, Felicity has sex with him, enabling her to plant the device in his anus. Fat Bastard forces it out of his bowels into a toilet, but a stool sample reveals traces of a vegetable that only grows on oneCaribbean island. Austin and Felicity arrive on the island but are apprehended. They escape their cell after Felicity distracts the guard by flashing her breasts at him.
Dr. Evil and Mini-Me leave for the Moon to install the giant laser, pursued by Austin and Felicity onApollo 11. At Dr. Evil's Moon base, Austin battles Mini-Me, eventually flushing him into space. He then confronts Dr. Evil, who gives him an ultimatum: save the world, or Felicity, who is trapped in a chamber with poison gas, will die, not before Felicity tells Austin to save the world. Before Austin can kill him, Dr. Evil suggests Austin use the time machine to save both Felicity and the world. Austin travels ten minutes into the past, meeting up with himself and saving the world and Felicity. Realizing his failure at the hands of Austin, Dr. Evil inadvertently initiates the self-destruct mechanism of the Moon base and escapes after throwing Austin's mojo into the air. Although Austin fails to catch it, and it is destroyed, Felicity points out all the things Austin has done to never lose his mojo. They escape through the time portal to 1999.
Back at Austin's pad, Fat Bastard attempts to assassinate Austin, but Felicity easily disarms him. Afterward, Austin and Felicity throw a party to celebrate his mission. In 1969, Dr. Evil recovers Mini-Me from space and vows revenge on Austin. OnThe Jerry Springer Show, Scott learns that Jerry invites his biological mother, who turns out to be Frau Farbissina, telling him that he is the love child of her and Dr. Evil, much to his delight. Meanwhile, Austin returns to his pad to discover Felicity with the past Austin, who claims that since he and Austin are the same person, he is not cheating.
There were two variations of the posters; one of them asterisked out the middle of the offending word "shag".[citation needed] Other posters had named the film asAustin Powers 2.[8] According to theCollins English Dictionary, the use of the word "shag" in the film's title helped to increase the word's acceptability, reducing its shock value and giving it a more jocular, relaxed connotation.[9]
Singapore considered changing the title toThe Spy Who Shioked Me (shiok derives from theMalay word,syok, which means, "to feel good").[8]
The Spy Who Shagged Me was a hit at the box office, landing the top position in its opening weekend grossing $54.9 million from a then-record 3,315 theaters.[10] Its debut total was more than the entire gross of its predecessor (the first sequel to ever achieve this), set a record for a June opening (beatingBatman Forever's 1995 record), and was the biggest opening ever for a comedy.[1][11][12] For four years, it would hold the June opening weekend record until 2003 whenHulk surpassed it.[13] The film grossed $206 million domestically and $107 million internationally, for a total of $313 million.[2]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 53% based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Provides lots of laughs with Myers at the helm; as funny or funnier than the original."[14] OnMetacritic the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[15] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[16]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film a 2.5 stars out of 4, noting that it has "big laughs" but also that "too many scenes end on a flat note, like thoseSaturday Night Live sketches that run out of steam before they end."[17]
The movie's soundtrack contains the 1999 hit "Beautiful Stranger" byMadonna. The song won aGrammy Award in 2000.Mike Myers appears as Austin Powers in the video, directed byBrett Ratner. Another single "Word Up!" byMel B, was released on June 28, 1999. It peaked at number 13 on theUK Singles Chart.
Dr. Evil also sings a parody ofWill Smith's popular 1997 songJust the Two of Us, which heavilysamples theGrover Washington Jr. classic "Just the Two of Us", referring in this case to his clone Mini-Me. The film's soundtrack had a rating of three stars atAllMusic.[18]
Another single "American Woman" byLenny Kravitz, was released as a single and was later included in the 1999 reissue of Kravitz's album5. The cover reached the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, and Spain, as well as number 26 in Canada and number 49 on the USBillboardHot 100. Kravitz's version is slower and softer than the original, without the signature guitar solo; he later said to Randy Bachman that the reason why he skipped the lead guitar part was "I couldn't get the sound. I couldn't get the tone."[19] Themusic video (directed byPaul Hunter) featured actressHeather Graham (who starred inThe Spy Who Shagged Me); the original political themes of the song were largely replaced bysex appeal. In 1999, Kravitz and his band were joined byThe Guess Who for a live performance of "American Woman" at the MuchMusic Video Awards. It was also used as the theme song of the Madusa monster truck in monster jam events.
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