AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER. Brilliantly stupid, vulgar, and hilarious

The advertising was huge, hordes of fans were growing at an alarming rate, shouts of admiration were coming from everywhere, and then even adoration for this agent of special care. Intrigued by all this marketing hype, I went a few years ago to see this fool Powers. And it was like this: great disappointment, omnipresent vulgarity, gutter humor, beautiful women, and two, maybe three scenes that didn’t make me regret spending money on the ticket. A few years passed, the second part of Powers’ adventures appeared. I skipped that one, because the impression from the first part was too fresh. And now Austin Powers in Goldmember appears, the third part of the adventures of the disgusting agent and the seductive women by his side. 

Now my throat should close because… I liked it! And I liked it a lot! I really don’t know how it’s possible, but practically throughout the whole screening, I laughed at the idiotic jokes, the mass of ambiguities, word games, and Powers’ psychedelic suit. Even the opening credits surprise, and if someone hasn’t stumbled upon spoilers before, they will laugh heartily because that scene is worth it. The further into it, maybe it’s not as funny and surprising as at the beginning, because the film returns “to its roots,” that is, what it became famous for the most, but – surprisingly – the vulgarity started to amuse. And here’s what amazed me: why do I like this movie so much?! After all, it’s Austin Powers in Goldmember! Without using Freudian analysis, one can say that it probably results from the attitude towards the movie itself and the character of Powers.

The first encounter with him involves a rather unpleasant feeling of dealing with a product surprising with its courage and typically mass-produced, created for teenagers who enjoy lowbrow humor, mainly American (because Powers earns the most there, the rest of the world contributes significantly less to this interest). It’s not a typical comedy in the style of Chaplin, the Marx brothers, not to mention Monty Python. It’s not strictly a parody like Hot Shots or Airplane!. I dare to say that Austin Powers combined “Chaplinesque” with Groucho’s talkativeness (omitting, of course, the immense sophistication in dialogues) into one whole and added one important ingredient – disgusting humor (sometimes called fecal) and sexism pouring out of the dialogues by gallons. This wasn’t present in such a piquant form before. Austin combines all the features of postmodern cinema – he mixes genres and pours his own sauce over them. There are no predefined rules, so maybe that’s why it surprised me so much?

Austin Powers in Goldmember also differs from its predecessor (part one, I’m skipping part two, of course). Currently, there’s more parody here than flaunting the already known physicality of the Agent. The beginning of the movie itself is a brilliant reference to Mission: Impossible and Rambo. Then we have the 70s, to which Austin transfers in search of the flaky Dutchman with the golden member. Sequins everywhere, bells, dazzling lights, and dancing like in Saturday Night Fever. Of course, the most important thing here is the mockery of Agent 007’s adventures. The villain is, of course, as always, Dr. Evil, who is plotting a nefarious plan to sink the planet Earth. All of this is very exaggerated, over-the-top, and brilliantly (finally!) parodied.

And Mike Myers feels right at home, playing three different characters in this parody. I admit I had doubts about his talent, but here he gives an excellent comedic performance. Similarly, Michael Caine, whom I would never have imagined in any role in any movie about a special care agent. Here, he plays the role of Austin’s father, Nigel Powers, and he’s… great at it! Nothing forced, just an effortless play in the movie. Just like the roles of Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones, John Travolta, and Britney Spears herself (whom Myers mocks), Fred Savage (remember Kevin from The Wonder Years?) and Ozzy Osbourne with his family.

 Austin Powers in Goldmember is really funny comedy, but of course, not for everyone, although everyone should check it out for themselves. Brilliantly stupid is the movie, rude, vulgar, disgusting, ambiguous, offensive, annoying, repulsive. And very, very funny. Yeah, baby, yeeaah!