Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Mike Myers, Elizabeth Hurley, Michael York, Seth Green,
Robert Wagner, Mimi Rogers, Fabiana Udenio, Mindy Sterling,
Paul Dillon, Charles Napier, Will Ferrell
Written by Mike Myers
UK certification 15 | UK RRP £17.99
DVD Region 2 | Runtime 91 minutes
Directed by Jay Roach
Can it really be 10 years since Mike Myers' swinging spy hit the screens? Can it really be 10 years since we declared good things to, once again, be "groovy, baby" or, indeed, "shagadelic"? And can a film that relied so heavily on prosthetic teeth, chest wigs, boob jokes and silly names for its laughs really be as funny as we first thought?
Re the 10 year thing, yes. Time has flown. It does that. As for Austin Powers being as funny as we first thought, it isn't. It's funnier. Beyond the whole shagadelic thing, the "one million dollars" stuff and the Alotta Fagina obviousness — the moments of comic genius come with astonishing regularity, the performances are spot-on and there are several scenes — how did I forget about the mutated ill-tempered sea bass? the father/son therapy session? the "nobody considers the families of henchmen" asides? — that deserve reassessment. Quite frankly, Austin Powers has a pretty decent claim to being one of the funniest films of all time.
To mark the 10th anniversary, this special edition features a second disc of extras, including a short but decent making-of feature, with interviews with the supporting cast and key personnel, some decent deleted scenes (including the brilliant Cheri Oteri as a "sexy stewardess"), a spy movie history (which didn't seem to work properly) and cast biogs. There's probably not quite enough here to justify replacing your existing copy of the film, but you really should watch the film again. It's aged extremely well.
EXTRAS *** Commentary with Mike Myers and Jay Roach; deleted scenes; A Shagadelic Decade featurette; trailers; TV spots; music video; Groovy Boys & Groovy Girls; interactive quiz.