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Latest Austin Powers' flick is old-fashioned British smut for a family audience By
Sam Springer
The Motion Picture Association of America permitted a PG-13 rating for Mike Myers' "Austin Powers in Goldmember" which turns out to be good, old-fashioned, British smut made for good, all-American, dirty-minded family audiences. The comedy pushes its limits without treading into R-rated territory. There are characters named "Fook Mi" and "Fook Yu", a mole the size of a fingernail, bodily-functions humor is prevalent from the flatulence of Fat Bastard, and the newest cast member, Goldmember, showcases some truly disgusting behavior when he peels off bits of dried skin and eats them. It¹s rude humor for every member of the family. Myers still knows how to deliver the goods. He tosses so many jokes at us -- both verbal and visual -- that, for every two or three that fall dreary, there's one that scores big. And when all else fails, he pulls the rabbit out of the hat, or what he would consider his leading material that happens to be a body partŠyou know which one. And he doesn't save his best for last. The first 10 minutes or so of "Austin Powers in Goldmember" is complete comic bliss, thanks to some high profile cameo appearances by some of our favorite superstars. After that, there's no place to go but down, but Myers makes the decline a memorable journey. For this go round, the multitalented Mike Myers adds a fourth character. In addition to playing Austin, his archenemy Dr. Evil, and the unbelievably obese Scotsman, Fat Bastard, Myers plays Goldmember, a twisted associate of Dr. Evil who lost his genitals in a smelting accident. Goldmember wants to destroy the world using a tractor beam (codenamed "Preparation H") aimed at a solid gold asteroid. For some reason, he has also kidnapped Austin's dad, Nigel. As the International Man of Mystery's father, Michael Caine has an opportunity to put his impersonation skills to the test. Beyoncé Knowles is Blaxsploitation-inspired Foxxy Cleopatra, Austin's latest love interest. Fred Savage, all grown up since ³The Wonder Years,² is Number Three, a man with an obvious facial disfigurement. Then of course there are the "regulars" - Basil Exposition (Michael York), Number Two (Robert Wagner), Scott Evil (Seth Green), Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), and Mini-Me (Verne J. Troyer). With everything aside, it's the jokes that count, the best being a huge production number set in a prison and danced to "It's a Hard-Knock Life" from "Annie," and a profane shadow show performed by Austin and Mini-Me in a clinic. The worst involves co-star Fred Savage as a mole named Number Three who happens to have a mole on his face. It isn't funny and it goes, and goes, and goes. This sequel's ending implies that there will be a fourth "Austin Powers" edition, who knows what else Mike Myers could have up his sleeve.
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