Retrospective Film Review

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) • 25 Years Later — silly spoof comedy is still groovy, baby!

Dr Evil is back and has invented a time machine that allows him to go back to the 1960s and steal Austin Powers’ mojo…

“Mike Myers fucked us.” Blunt words from Daniel Craig explaining why Casino Royale (2006) required a complete reinvention of James Bond, stripping away past frivolity. The loveable rogue Myers was the latest comedic prodigy championed on Saturday Night Live. Joining the cast in 1989, he was a leading man by the time of Wayne’s World (1992) and Wayne’s World 2 (1993). A Canadian on American screens, raised on British comedy, Myers created the faux 1960s rock band Ming Tea. Their lead singer, Austin Powers, was a sincere homage to his father’s shared love of British culture. Influences ranged from Monty Python and The Goodies to Peter Sellers’ portrayal in the 007 parody Casino Royale (1967).

Then-wife Robin (who penned the parody lyrics to “Just the Two of Us” for this film), convinced Myers to adapt Austin for the…