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Austin Powers in Goldmember
(Reviewed July 15, 2002, by James Dawson)
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This will be the only review you read anywhere that does NOT ruin any of the great cameo surprises and plot twists awaiting you in this return-to-form Austin Powers movie, which is almost up there with the first in the series for big, dumb laughs. If you don't want to have some of the movie's biggest treats spoiled, manfully resist reading any of those idiot critics (such as Rolling Stone's moronic Peter Travers) whose idea of criticism is summarizing entire plots and revealing every surprise in a script.
The first five minutes of "Austin Powers in Goldmember" will make your jaw drop in delight, but I won't tell you why. Put it this way: DO NOT SHOW UP LATE, or you will miss the best part of the movie!
The middle gets kind of hit-and-miss; there definitely are some flat, laughless stretches here. But compared to the deadly unfunny "The Spy Who Shagged Me," this installment in the series is a comedic masterpiece. (Then again, compared to "The Spy Who Shagged Me," the Oxford English Dictionary is a comedic masterpiece.)
Mike Myers actually looks younger and more energetic (in all of his various roles) in this movie than he did in "Spy Who Shagged Me"--maybe he's revitalized by having written better material this time around. Beyonce Knowles of Destiny's Child is excellent (and incredibly sexy, baby...YEAH!) as Austin's new partner Foxy Cleopatra, a time-displaced '70s disco diva. And Michael Caine is suitably Michael Caine-ish (translation: perfectly cast) as Austin's dad.
More than one scene in this movie made me laugh out loud, and I'm a crotchety snob with a bad attitude and a permanent curled-lip sneer. So just imagine how much a happy, well-adjusted person such as yourself will enjoy it!
Back Row Grade: B
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