Austin Powers (1997 - 2002)

123468

Comments

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Well it's hardly Frankie Boyle's Channel 4 show, I don't remember being hugely shocked by it to be honest! :)
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,021
    Your assignment is an unhappy one.
  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Urine jokes and "Fat Bastard" were slightly tasteless, in my opinion. GM does nothing "slightly". ;-)

    Slightly annoying even. ;)
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    I think if you haven't watched any of them it would be hard to tell if they were annoying.
  • Minion wrote: »
    Hey, if we're spoofing the new Bond films they could make Austin Powers and Dr. Evil brothers!

    Genuinely made me laugh.

    80958874.jpg
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Urine jokes and "Fat Bastard" were slightly tasteless, in my opinion. GM does nothing "slightly". ;-)

    I'm really only a fan of the first Austin Powers for this reason. While the toilet humor worked in the first one (especially when actual toilets were involved), they just got lewder and baser in the next two, going more for shock value than for the fresh and well-played comedy of the original.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,179
    A certain Heather Graham is the main reason why I like TSWSM. The Bonds films missed an opportunity there. Gorgeous girl.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,968
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    A certain Heather Graham is the main reason why I like TSWSM. The Bonds films missed an opportunity there. Gorgeous girl.

    I had a crush on her as a kid thanks to that film.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    A certain Heather Graham is the main reason why I like TSWSM. The Bonds films missed an opportunity there. Gorgeous girl.

    The Bonds took the idea of getting Madonna to do the main tie-in song instead :D
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    Posts: 7,547
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    A certain Heather Graham is the main reason why I like TSWSM. The Bonds films missed an opportunity there. Gorgeous girl.

    My first celebrity crush.
  • I echo the warm sentiments on the first two films and especially Heather Graham. My best friend at the time and I saw both the 1st and 2nd films several times and used all the silly catch phrases for months at school. Annoying? Most definitely. But we had a riot.

    "Throw me a frigging bone!"
    "My titties are bigger than yours!"
    "Who does number two work for?"

    And the soundtracks were killer. I include most of the songs in my Bond playlist to mix things up a bit
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,176
    And the soundtracks were killer. I include most of the songs in my Bond playlist to mix things up a bit

    Yes, I still play the soundtracks to 1 and 2 a lot (I won the Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, along with 2 tickets to see the film, in a draw run by the local paper).
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,176
    Just seen this online :)

    FFbQHmZXwAM_6Z8.jpg
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,179
    mtm wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    A certain Heather Graham is the main reason why I like TSWSM. The Bonds films missed an opportunity there. Gorgeous girl.

    The Bonds took the idea of getting Madonna to do the main tie-in song instead :D

    Even 'Beautiful Stranger' would have been a better song for DAD than 'Die Another Day'. Imagine the torture montage combined with that song. :-D
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    It was an excellent song and a big hit at the time, you can see why Eon wanted her. But she'd changed direction by then and went with a more challenging style.
  • Posts: 15,116
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.
  • NickTwentyTwoNickTwentyTwo Vancouver, BC, Canada
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,547
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.

    Only makes me like it more. It clearly knows what it wants to be, and it succeeds. :))

    I remember when I was a kid, we went on a lot of road trips and at one point we got a DVD
    player / screen that hooks up to the back of the headrest, and I would watch these three films on loop for the entire trip.
  • Posts: 15,116
    Whether one likes it or not, I don't think it's a kind of humour that is relevant today.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,179
    The only good thing about GM for me is the opening: the Hollywood celeb cameo party, including my girl Britney Spears.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.

    It’s really not that bad. It’s hardly even Young Ones level stuff.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,179
    Let's just say that movie didn't leave me wanting another one.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    edited November 2021 Posts: 7,021
    Agent_99 wrote: »
    And the soundtracks were killer. I include most of the songs in my Bond playlist to mix things up a bit

    Yes, I still play the soundtracks to 1 and 2 a lot (I won the Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, along with 2 tickets to see the film, in a draw run by the local paper).
    Very enjoyable scores, and very melodic. I love that sinister flute/vibraphone theme for Dr. Evil. Vanessa's Theme is gorgeous. The musical parody of Capsule in Space in the second film is funny.

    Almost goes without saying that the films also have great songs. BBC, The Look of Love sung by Susanna Hoffs, Mas Que Nada, I Touch Myself, Dr. Evil by They Might Be Giants, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, etc. etc...

    There is a "promo score" album for the first film that has an unused instrumental version of Mas Que Nada. Fantastic stuff, really beautiful.

    I don't remember that much of the third film; same goes for the music. Must watch it again. All of them really.

    Another film that came to mind as having a great score as well as an abundance of terrific songs is The Mask.

    DarthDimi wrote: »
    The only good thing about GM for me is the opening: the Hollywood celeb cameo party, including my girl Britney Spears.
    Spielberg doing cartwheels.

    80958874.jpg
    Robert Wagner is great at comedy. He was great in The Pink Panther as well. That scene in which he is hiding in the hotel room as Capucine tries to distract Clouseau is terrific.
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,588
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.

    In 2002, 13 year old me found Goldmember side splittingly hilarious.

    33 year old me finds it one the dumbest movies ever made. I watched it a few years back and barely even laughed. And I can be a sucker for stupid comedy movies.

    The first 2 hold up well though.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited November 2021 Posts: 13,978
    These are better left back in the day. They were hilarious at the time, but they are terribly unfunny now. I would recommend the Johnny English films, and/or the Jean Dujardin OSS 117 films instead, for anyone in need of a Bond/spy parody.
  • Posts: 15,116
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    The only good thing about GM for me is the opening: the Hollywood celeb cameo party, including my girl Britney Spears.
    Yes that bit was good, if only because it turned AP into a "proper" Bond film, if only to pull the rug suddenly. A parody of a serious adaptation of a parody of a Bond film.
    mtm wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.

    It’s really not that bad. It’s hardly even Young Ones level stuff.

    I find it better than the previous movie, in some ways, sometimes. But it's rather lame overall and the jokes that work feel like unused ideas from the original. I don't think anybody wants to watch more.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,383
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.

    It’s really not that bad. It’s hardly even Young Ones level stuff.

    I find it better than the previous movie, in some ways, sometimes. But it's rather lame overall and the jokes that work feel like unused ideas from the original. I don't think anybody wants to watch more.

    Well I was talking about the tasteless thing, not the overall quality. I haven't seen it in many years but yes, I recall it being diminishing returns.
  • edited December 2021 Posts: 6,844
    The first 2 hold up well though.

    TSWSM did have its moments, didn't it? I'll have to revisit this one sometime.

    mattjoes wrote: »
    Agent_99 wrote: »
    And the soundtracks were killer. I include most of the songs in my Bond playlist to mix things up a bit

    Yes, I still play the soundtracks to 1 and 2 a lot (I won the Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack, along with 2 tickets to see the film, in a draw run by the local paper).
    Very enjoyable scores, and very melodic. I love that sinister flute/vibraphone theme for Dr. Evil. Vanessa's Theme is gorgeous. The musical parody of Capsule in Space in the second film is funny.

    Almost goes without saying that the films also have great songs. BBC, The Look of Love sung by Susanna Hoffs, Mas Que Nada, I Touch Myself, Dr. Evil by They Might Be Giants, I'll Never Fall in Love Again, etc. etc...

    There is a "promo score" album for the first film that has an unused instrumental version of Mas Que Nada. Fantastic stuff, really beautiful.

    I don't remember that much of the third film; same goes for the music. Must watch it again. All of them really.

    Another film that came to mind as having a great score as well as an abundance of terrific songs is The Mask.

    I distinctly remember George S. Clinton homaging the main theme of You Only Live Twice when Powers and Shagwell come up on the beach, and of course his cover of Quincy Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova" for the films' main titles was absolute perfection.

    mattjoes wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    The only good thing about GM for me is the opening: the Hollywood celeb cameo party, including my girl Britney Spears.
    Spielberg doing cartwheels.

    Yeah, but you can also see him doing cartwheels in the behind-the-scenes on the War Horse Blu-Ray, and frankly I've seen people do better cartwheels. Scorsese does crazy good cartwheels while shooting his films.

    mattjoes wrote: »
    80958874.jpg
    Robert Wagner is great at comedy. He was great in The Pink Panther as well. That scene in which he is hiding in the hotel room as Capucine tries to distract Clouseau is terrific.

    Robert Wagner did have great comedic timing in AP. He was perfectly deadpan. I actually haven't seen any of the Pink Panther films. I'll have to check them out.

    These are better left back in the day. They were hilarious at the time, but they are terribly unfunny now. I would recommend the Johnny English films, and/or the Jean Dujardin OSS 117 films instead, for anyone in need of a Bond/spy parody.

    I have enjoyed Jean Dujardin's OSS 117 films, but I must get around to the Johnny English films some day.
  • mattjoesmattjoes Julie T. and the M.G.'s
    Posts: 7,021
    mattjoes wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    The only good thing about GM for me is the opening: the Hollywood celeb cameo party, including my girl Britney Spears.
    Spielberg doing cartwheels.

    Yeah, but you can also see him doing cartwheels in the behind-the-scenes on the War Horse Blu-Ray, and frankly I've seen people do better cartwheels. Scorsese does crazy good cartwheels while shooting his films.

    I hear Hitchcock did them too. Tippi Hedren probably said so. But that's a conversation that deserves its own thread. Cartwheeling filmmakers.
  • A sort of general, all-purposes thread on cartwheeling on MI6 has been long overdue.
  • Agent_99Agent_99 enjoys a spirited ride as much as the next girl
    Posts: 3,176
    Ludovico wrote: »
    mtm wrote: »
    I thought the slightly tasteless humour was part of the whole thing.

    Like @DarthDimi said, by Goldmember it's no longer slightly. It's downright juvenile and frankly gross. Apparently they had to tone it down: test viewings saw members of the audiences vomiting.

    In 2002, 13 year old me found Goldmember side splittingly hilarious.

    33 year old me finds it one the dumbest movies ever made. I watched it a few years back and barely even laughed. And I can be a sucker for stupid comedy movies.

    The first 2 hold up well though.

    I loved all the Nigel Powers stuff in GM, though - I found it genuinely moving (though not as much as Austin's monologue in IMOM to a sleeping Vanessa about how much he loved her mum, which makes me actually cry).

    Check out this deleted scene (parodying 'Alfie', which starred Michael Caine):

  • JamesCraigJamesCraig Ancient Rome
    Posts: 3,497
    mtm wrote: »
    I think if you haven't watched any of them it would be hard to tell if they were annoying.

    There's a thing called movie clips, see.
Sign In or Register to comment.