Myers finds his niche in funny spy spoof

By Joshua Rich
Daily Arts Writer

Austin Powers (Mike Myers) and Agent Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) plan an escape in the summer comedy "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery."

Ever the master of the savvy spoof, "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Mike Myers has been reborn once again to salvage his oft-moribund career in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery." Straying from his banal take on heavy metal dufuses, Myers plays a 1960s hipster secret agent with terrible teeth and a bush of chest hair that would make Sean Connery proud. Austin Powers is a jovial, testosterone-charged Brit who, like Myers himself, causes even the most prudish to swoon despite his goofy, often unseemly looks.

Powers is a character Myers was born to play, and pop-cultural aping abounds from the start. In the title sequence, an homage to the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," Austin runs through the streets of London, fleeing from a rampaging pack of adoring teenage fans. His sidekick is the ever-lovely Mimi Rogers in a stunning Mod Squad getup; his car is a James Bondian Aston Martin that is psychedically painted bumper to bumper with a Union Jack.

We follow our secret agent friend on his pursuit of the notorious Dr. Evil (also played by Myers) who, in the tradition of the ubiquitous Bond foe Ernst Stavro Blofeld, escapes the clutches of Her Majesty's secret service. In the film's most ridiculous sequence, Dr. Evil cryogenically freezes himself in a Big Boy-shaped rocket ship that blasts into orbit from Piccadilly Circus. Austin himself is turned into a popsicle to combat the smarmy villain when they both thaw 30 years later.

Fast forward to 1997, when our hero is defrosted in a much-changed world. Americans and Russians no longer quarrel, and much to Austin's chagrin, promiscuous sex is a thing of the past. The film begs important questions of just how the hyper-horny bloke is supposed to survive, especially when tested by partner Elizabeth Hurley.

Despite some juvenile ploys - substituting ripe melons for a woman's behemoth bosoms is straight out of Myers' idiotic Wayne and Garth "Party on, dude!" mode - "Austin Powers" succeeds as both a strict James bond satire and lighthearted social commentary.

The fact is, Connery's James Bond would not survive in the 1990s. Communism no longer poses a threat to democracy, and casual coitus is too risky. The result makes both Bond and our current condom-covered decade seem equally silly and tragic; the world has no doubt sacrificed its carefree ways to protect itself from repeating the unpleasant 1960s.

Still, Myers has fun with the Bond-out-of-water routine, stocking the film full with savvy pointed reference to each of Connery's 007 flicks. His subtle jabs indicate how absurd an International Man of Mystery can be. Never has Myers been so dead-on funny.

Smashing, baby!

09-03-97