Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is an 1999 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the second installment in the Austin Powers film series, after International Man of Mystery. It stars franchise co-producer and writer Mike Myers as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard. The film also stars Heather Graham, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Seth Green, and Elizabeth Hurley. The film's title is a play on the James Bond film The 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' charisma ("mojo") and deprive him of whatever qualities made him an effective secret agent so he can no longer interfere with Evil's plans.
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 the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Makeup (Michèle Burke and Mike Smithson). It is followed by Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002).
Plot[]
In 1999, British spy Austin Powers enjoys his honeymoon with his wife, Vanessa Kensington. It is revealed that Vanessa has always been a fembot controlled by Dr. Evil, after she attempts to kill Powers. Dr. Evil then causes Vanessa to self-destruct. Austin grieves briefly before realizing he is single again and thus can have sex without commitment. A NATO monitoring facility observes the return of Dr. Evil from space, who confronts his son Scott and starts a coup on The Jerry Springer Show. At Dr. Evil's lair in Seattle, he is presented with a one-eighth-size clone of himself, whom he names Mini-Me.
Number 2 reveals their company has purchased Starbucks but Dr. Evil nonetheless unveils his latest plan: he has developed a time machine to go back to the 1960s and steal Austin's mojo, the source of his sexual appeal. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me travel to 1969 and meet a younger Number 2 and Frau Farbissina. An obese "Scottish Guard", Fat Bastard, extracts Austin's mojo from his frozen body at the Ministry of Defence (MOD). British intelligence warns Austin that one of Dr. Evil's agents is after him, and during a photo shoot the wanton Ivana Humpalot seduces him, but at the last moment claims he is too sexy to kill. They have sex, but he discovers he has lost his mojo and is impotent.
The MOD sends Austin to 1969 using a time-travelling Volkswagen New Beetle. Austin arrives at a party in his London pad, and with the assistance of CIA agent Felicity Shagwell escapes an assassination attempt by Dr. Evil's operatives. Austin and Felicity are pursued by Mustafa, another of Dr. Evil's henchmen; when caught he reveals the existence of Dr. Evil's volcano lair. Before he can divulge its location, Mini-Me shoots him with a dart, causing him to fall off a cliff.
Examining photographs from the crime scene, Austin identifies Fat Bastard as the perpetrator of the theft of his mojo. At Dr. Evil's lair, Fat Bastard arrives with Austin's mojo. Dr. Evil drinks some of it and has sex with Frau Farbissina. This results in an awkward situation when Frau reveals she is pregnant before Scott, Dr. Evil's son, arrives through the time portal. Dr. Evil announces his latest plan — to hold the world ransom by threatening to destroy cities using a laser on the Moon. In London, Austin and Felicity get to know each other, but when Felicity tries having sex with him, he turns her down because of his lost mojo.
Under MOD instructions to implant a homing device into Fat Bastard, Felicity seduces him and has sex with him, allowing her to plant the device in his anus. Fat Bastard forces it out of his bowels into a Paddington Station toilet, but a stool sample reveals traces of a vegetable that only grows on one Caribbean island. Austin and Felicity arrive on the island but are apprehended. They are put in a cell with a guard who is overcome when Felicity exposes her breasts. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me leave for the Moon to install the laser pursued by Austin and Felicity on Apollo 11. In Dr. Evil's moon base, Austin battles with Mini-Me, eventually flushing him into space. As Austin confronts Dr. Evil, Dr. Evil gives him a choice: save the world or Felicity, who is locked in a chamber with poison gas.
Felicity tells Austin to save the world and he succeeds, but Felicity dies. 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. Dr. Evil initiates the self-destruct mechanism of the moon base and escapes after throwing Austin's mojo into the air. Both Austins fail to catch it and it is destroyed. Felicity points out that all the things Austin has done show that he never lost his mojo. They escape through the time portal to 1999.
At Austin's pad, Fat Bastard makes another attempt to assassinate Austin, but Felicity disarms him. Felicity and Austin throw a party. In 1969, Dr. Evil recovers Mini-Me from space and vows revenge. On The Jerry Springer Show, Scott learns he is the love child of Dr. Evil and Frau Farbissina. Austin returns to his pad to discover Felicity with the past Austin, who claims that since he and Austin are the same person, it is not cheating.
Cast[]
- Mike Myers as Austin Powers / Dr. Evil / Fat Bastard
- Heather Graham as Felicity Shagwell
- Michael York as Basil Exposition
- Robert Wagner as Number Two
- Rob Lowe as Young Number Two
- Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina
- Seth Green as Scott Evil
- Verne Troyer as Mini-Me
- Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington
- Gia Carides as Robin Spitz-Swallows
- Will Ferrell as Mustafa
- Oliver Muirhead as British Colonel
- Clint Howard as Johnson Ritter
- Kristen Johnston as Ivana Humpalot
- Jeff Garlin as Cyclops
- Michael McDonald as NATO Soldier
- Burt Bacharach as Himself
- Elvis Costello as Himself
- Jerry Springer as Himself (cameo)
- Steve Wilkos as Himself (cameo)
- Rebecca Romijn as Herself
- Woody Harrelson as Himself
- Charles Napier as General Hawk
- Tim Robbins as Richard Nixon (The President)
- Willie Nelson as Himself
- Fred Willard as Mission Commander
- David Koechner as Co-Pilot
- Jaap Stam as Co-Pilot #2
- Humberto Tan as Co-Pilot #3
- Tony Jay as the Narrator
- Rachel Wilson as Woody Harrelson fan
Production[]
Title censorship[]
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 as Austin Powers 2. According to the Collins 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.
Singapore considered changing the title to The Spy Who Shioked Me (shiok derives from the Malay word, syok, which means, "to feel good").
Reception[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 52% based on 90 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Provides lots of laughs with Myers at the healm [sic]; as funny or funnier than the original." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Box Office[]
The Spy who Shagged Me was a hit at the box office, landing the top position in its opening weekend grossing $54.9 million, more than the entire gross of its predecessor (the first sequel to achieve this), setting a record for a June opening and the biggest opening ever for a comedy. The film grossed $312 million worldwide.
Soundtrack[]
The movie's soundtrack contains the 1999 hit "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna. The song won a Grammy Award in 2000. Mike Myers appears as Austin Powers in the video, directed by Brett Ratner. Another single "Word Up!" by Mel B, was released on June 28, 1999. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.
Dr. Evil also sings a parody of Will Smith's popular 1997 cover of the Grover 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 at AllMusic.[1]
Another single "American Woman" by Lenny Kravitz, was released as a single and was later included in the 1999 reissue of Kravitz's album 5. The cover reached the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Poland and Spain, as well as number 26 in Canada and number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 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."[2] The music video (directed by Paul Hunter) featured actress Heather Graham (who starred in The Spy Who Shagged Me); the original political themes of the song were largely replaced by sex appeal. In 1999, Kravitz and his band were joined by The 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.
Track listing[]
- "Beautiful Stranger" – Madonna
- "My Generation" – The Who (live at BBC)
- "Draggin' the Line" – R.E.M.
- "American Woman" – Lenny Kravitz
- "Word Up!" – Melanie B (credited as Melanie G)
- "Just the Two of Us (Dr. Evil Mix)" – Dr. Evil (Mike Myers)
- "Espionage" – Green Day
- "Time of the Season" – Big Blue Missile/Scott Weiland
- "Buggin'" – The Flaming Lips
- "Alright" – The Lucy Nation
- "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" – Burt Bacharach/Elvis Costello
- "Soul Bossa Nova (Dim's Space-A-Nova)" – Quincy Jones & His Orchestra
The soundtrack sold over one million copies in the United States and was certified Platinum. A second soundtrack was also released, entitled More Music From the Motion Picture.
Certifications[]
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[3] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[4] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[5] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[6] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[8] | Platinum | 1,300,000[7] |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
More Music track listing "Dialogue"[]
- "Austin Meets Felicity" – Film Dialogue
- Mustafa's Three Question Rule – Film Dialogue
"More Music" track listing[]
- "Am I Sexy?" – Lords of Acid
- "I'm a Believer" – The Monkees
- "Magic Carpet Ride" – Steppenwolf
- "American Woman" – Lenny Kravitz
- "Get the Girl" – The Bangles
- "Bachelord Pad" (FPM Edit) – Fantastic Plastic Machine
- "Let's Get It On" – Marvin Gaye
- "Crash!" – Propellerheads
- "Time of the Season" – The Zombies
- "Dr. Evil" – They Might Be Giants
- "The Austin Powers Shagaphonic Medley" – George S. Clinton
- "Beautiful Stranger" (Calderone Radio Mix) – Madonna
In addition, a score album featuring cues from both George S. Clinton scores (tracks 1–7 from the first film, track 8 an arrangement of Quincy Jones's "Soul Bossa Nova," and tracks 9–16 from the second) was released.
Chart positions[]
Weekly charts[]
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Year-end charts[]
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Gallery[]
Trivia[]
References[]
- ↑ Boldman, Gina. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at AllMusic
- ↑ Pat Pemberton (2010-08-06). "Randy Bachman Learns to Enjoy Lenny Kravitz's 'American Woman' Cover - Spinner Canada". www.spinner.ca.
- ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Var – Austin Powers OST". Music Canada.
- ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Var – Austin Powers OST". Recorded Music NZ.
- ↑ "British album certifications – Var – Austin Powers OST". British Phonographic Industry.
- ↑ "Best Selling Records of 1999". Billboard (22 January 2000).
- ↑ "American album certifications – Soundtrack – Austin Powers". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Soundtrack – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Awards". Rovi Corporation.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Soundtrack – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Soundtrack – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Charts.nz – Soundtrack – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Soundtrack – Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ "End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Albums 1999". ARIA Charts.
- ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1999".
External links[]
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me on Warnerbros.com
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at the Internet Movie Database
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at AllMovie
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at Box Office Mojo
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at Rotten Tomatoes
- Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me at TV.com
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