It was a fish-out-water joke movie that took as many stabs at James Bond lore as it did at the absurdity of mod fashions and Swinging London.
The original film derived its humor primarily from the fact that Austin Powers was a crude, badly dressed swinging misfit from the '60s transplanted to the politically correct '90s. One of the principle differences between the original "Austin Powers" and this sequel is its source of comedy. But, when it doesn't, the movie finds itself stranded until the next good joke, giving it a choppy, unbalanced tone. Much of the movie has that momentary improvisational feel, and it often works. Myers, who also co-wrote the script with Michael McCullers, will be the first to tell you that the majority of the movie was improvised on the set. The plot is scattershot and really not all that important. Meanwhile, he goes back in time from the 1990s to the 1967 to steal Austin's "mojo," the libidinal life force that makes Austin the randy swinger that he is. Evil, once again intent on taking over the world, has built a giant laser gun on the moon aimed to destroy Washington, DC.
In "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me," Mike Myers returns as both the titular shagadelic superspy and as his arch nemesis, the pinkie-sucking Dr. But, after $50 million at the box office and more than three million videos sold, it was inevitable that a sequel would raise its head. When "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" was released in the spring of 1997, it wasn't meant to be the massive cult phenomenon it turned into. Evil, Fat Bastard), Heather Graham (Felicity Shagwell), Michael York (Basil Exposition), Robert Wagner (Number Two), Rob Lowe (Young Number Two), Seth Green (Scott Evil), Mindy Sterling (Frau Farbissina), Verne Troyer (Mini-Me), Elizabeth Hurley (Vanessa), Kristen Johnston (Ivana Humpalot) Screenplay: Mike Myers and Michael McCullers