Austin Powers in Goldmember: Review By bcloutier

Sitting in the darkened theater as the second half of Austin Powers: Goldmember began to unfurl before me I wiped away the tears of laughter from a bit about a very angry fat man in a diaper and realized something about Mike Meyers, and I’m sure I’m not the first. I realized that if his performances throughout his entire career are any indication then he is having more fun with his chosen profession that anyone should legally be allowed to have. Even in this the third, and somewhat less than perfect, installment of the Austin Powers Trilogy it is blatantly obvious that the man loves what he does and works very hard at doing it. In my opinion that kind of spirit can, and in this case does at times, carry a somewhat lacking film. Austin Powers: Goldmember is not perfect by any means, but it is funny, an enjoyable way to spend two hours, and well worth the price of admission.

If you've seen parts one and two of this series you already know the setup going in. If not, let me break it down for you so you'll be prepared. In the first film, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery we were introduced to the titular character Austin Powers, a British super spy from the 60s who was cryogenically frozen and then thawed out in the 90s to face his nemesis, Dr. Evil. Hilarity ensued. Then came the second installment, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. This time Austin, now living permanently in the 90s was tasked with time traveling back to the 60s to stop Dr. Evil from blowing things up with his moon mounted laser. Oh, and Dr. Evil got a midget clone of himself. Part two had better characters and not quite as good a plot, but still hilarity ensued. In Goldmember a new evil is a foot and Austin must once again time travel to save the day and rescue his super spy father. It's a decent story line for a second sequel, if not a bit contrived and rushed at times. The question is will hilarity once again ensue? Read on, and lets find out.

One of the strongest aspects of the Austin Powers series thus far has been the amazing cast of characters that Meyers surrounds himself with. This trend continues with Goldmember. Back for another turn are Scott Evil (Seth Green), Mini Me (Verne Troyer), Number 2 (Robert Wagner), and a host of others. What keeps each movie fresh though are the always interesting new characters Meyers throws into the mix. Goldmember is no exception. Foxy Cleopatra (Beyonc