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Austin Powers "The Spy Who Shagged Me"

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DVD Review by Techtite

The Film : Let's start by praising the original film : unique, inspired, humorous, and entertaining. This sequel works hard to be any of the above, though fails at times. You know the sequel is in trouble when Liz Hurley -- the glue that held the original together-- is eliminated in the first few minutes. With or without her, most of the best scenes are xeroxed re-treads of shticks from the original film (memories of "Airplane 2" and "Police Academy 3" surface).

This isn't to say I didn't laugh --several times-- in the film. It's just that I winced several more times. I can barely mention the scene where Meyers drinks excrement thinking it is coffee (anyone who'd laugh at that and still scoff at Jar-Jar Binks is a prepubescent hypocrite). Meyers' inane new character, Fat Bastard, is never funny. Even when ripping off classic Benny Hill sight gags, Meyers falls terribly short. Gosh, in one scene, he gets a woman to drop her scarf to reveal --hubba hubba!-- her bare back. 12 year olds must've really thought Austin was cool when he did that.

The sad part is, Mike Meyers seems clueless as to what made the first film so funny. The original movie's humor was based on a 1960's man thrust into the '90s. In this movie, they go back to the 60's. This is as inane as the thought of Superman going back in time to Krypton, so you can see him as a weakling. The only difference is that here, the humor becomes weaker. Why does he go back in time? To get back his "mojo"; a bottle of goop that makes Austin cool and sexy. Um...when did Austin Powers become cool and sexy? Did I miss a press meeting somewhere?

Fortunately, Meyers has a supporting cast that truly supports. This includes the now infamous "Mini Me" (left). Other castmates include Heather Graham, Rob Lowe, Seth Green, Robert Wagner, and Michael York. The problem? For most of the film, they are all put in backseat status for Mike Meyers, Mike Meyers, and Mike Meyers (he plays three characters). At times, you want to ask Meyers to shut up, so you can see more of the other cast. Take your own advice, Meyers...behave!

The DVD : Even for a person who preferred the original film, there is more than enough reason to purchase (or at least rent) the DVD. In addition to an optional audio commentary track and a behind-the-scenes featurette, there are DVD-ROM features like a demo of the computer trivia game, and the entire original web site. Last, and most anticipated, is a full 20 minutes of deleted scenes.

It's the latter addition (deleted scenes) where the DVD really shines. Why? Some deletions are funnier than what made it into the final cut! Few deleted scenes resort to shock-value filth (i.e., drinking excrement as if it were coffee), and include humor for the sake of laughter, not nausea...what a concept! The hard truth might shock Meyers; he deleted the wrong scenes! "Fat Bastard" should've been cut out entirely, with these scenes kept in. Whoops, baby!

	Final Rating : Small Crater. Heather Graham is a knockout, Mini Me is funny, and...that's it. The best jokes are re-worded jokes from the original film!
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