| Austin Powers | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Jay Roach |
| Produced by | Mike Myers Demi Moore Jennifer Todd Suzanne Todd |
| Written by | Mike Myers Michael McCullers |
| Starring | Mike Myers |
| Music by | George S. Clinton |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
| Release date(s) | 1997 – 2002 |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $112,500,000 |
| Box office | $676,356,278 |
The Austin Powers series is a series of action-comedy films written by and starring Mike Myers as the title character, directed by Jay Roach and distributed by New Line Cinema. The franchise parodies numerous James Bond, Derek Flint, Jason King, and Matt Helm films, characters, and video games, incorporate a myriad of other elements of popular culture and follows the British spy's heroic quest to bring the villain Doctor Evil to justice.
The films poke fun at the outrageous plots, rampant sexual innuendo, and one-dimensional stock characters characteristically associated with 1960s spy films, as well as the cliché of the ultra-suave male superspy. Contrary to the handsome, super-smooth leading men of the James Bond genre, Austin Powers is not characterized as being conventionally attractive (he is especially known for his bad teeth), although female characters in the films seem to find him irresistible. The general theme of the films is that the arch-villain Dr. Evil plots to extort large sums of money from governments or international bodies but is constantly thwarted by British super-spy Austin Powers, and (to a degree) his own inexperience with life and culture in the 1990s. In the first film, Austin and Dr. Evil are awakened after being cryogenically frozen for 30 years. Continuing to incorporate cultural elements of the 1960s and 1970s, the second and third films feature time travel as a plot device and deliberately overlook inconsistencies.
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Myers himself has stated in interviews that the idea for Austin Powers came to him one night while driving home from ice hockey practice. Hearing the song "The Look of Love" by Burt Bacharach on his car radio, he wondered "Where have all the swingers gone?", and conceived his character who would become Austin Powers. The first phrase he thought the character might say was "Do I make you horny?" which later did indeed become a catch phrase for the character. He has also disclosed that the character also draws on his recollections of former Radio Caroline DJ Simon Dee who hosted the first real TV chat show in the UK in 1967 which ended with his driving off in a sports car with a young blonde in the passenger seat.
A Canadian by birth, Myers' parents are native of Liverpool, England, and Myers holds dual nationality. Although the films parody the plots and characters of 1960s spy movies, the humour is influenced by Myers' British heritage particularly the Carry On films, Benny Hill and Peter Sellers of whom Myers is a self-confessed fan (his favourite films being the Bond spoof Casino Royale and The Party). Influences from Sellers' films are apparent throughout the series with the character of Austin Powers being inspired by Seller's portrayal of Roger Danvers in the 1972 film There's a Girl in My Soup. Powers' dandyish appearance is inspired by Jason King - the adventurer from Department S who starred in his eponymous spin-off show. Other influences are The Beatles films, The Monkees television series and the cocktail party scene from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.
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- A dark grey cell indicates the character did not appear in the film.
| Character | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| International Man of Mystery | The Spy Who Shagged Me | Goldmember | |
| Austin Powers | Mike Myers | ||
| Doctor Evil | Mike Myers | ||
| Basil Exposition | Michael York | ||
| Number 2 | Robert Wagner | Robert Wagner / Rob Lowe (younger version) | |
| Frau Farbissina | Mindy Sterling | ||
| Scott Evil | Seth Green | ||
| Vanessa Kensington | Elizabeth Hurley | ||
| Mini-Me | Verne Troyer | ||
| Fat Bastard | Mike Myers | ||
| Mrs. Kensington | Mimi Rogers | ||
| Felicity Shagwell | Heather Graham | ||
| Foxxy Cleopatra | Beyoncé Knowles | ||
| Nigel Powers | Michael Caine | ||
| Number 3 | Fred Savage | ||
| Goldmember | Mike Myers | ||
The Sweetish made penis enlarger pump!
The series featured two cars–number plates "SWINGER" and "SWINGER2" and collectively dubbed the "Shaguars"–that were portrayed by a 1961 Jaguar E Type and a 2001 XK8 convertible respectively. The Ministry of Defence creates two cars to transport Powers through time: a psychedelic-rainbow painted 1999 Volkswagen "New Beetle" convertible in the second film, and a purple 1975 Cadillac Eldorado Fleetwood "pimpmobile" (number plate "SWNGR 3") in the third. Additionally, Felicity Shagwell drives a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray with an American flag paint job in the second film and Nigel Powers has a 2001 Mini Cooper–able to travel underwater–and which bears the number plate "GR8SHAG" in the third.
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Foreign | Worldwide | All time domestic | All time worldwide | ||||
| Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery | May 2, 1997 | $53,883,989 | $13,800,000 | $67,683,989 | #1,002 | $16,500,000 | [1] | |
| Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | June 11, 1999 | $206,040,086 | $105,976,772 | $312,016,858 | #90 #145(A) |
#198 | $33,000,000 | [2] |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | July 26, 2002 | $213,307,889 | $83,347,542 | $296,655,431 | #84 #175(A) |
#221 | $63,000,000 | [3] |
| Total | $473,231,964 | $203,124,314 | $676,356,278 | $112,500,000 | ||||
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| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Top Critics | ||
| Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery | 68% (56 reviews)[4] | 53% (15 reviews)[5] | 51% (25 reviews)[6] |
| Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | 52% (86 reviews)[7] | 55% (20 reviews)[8] | 59% (34 reviews)[9] |
| Austin Powers in Goldmember | 54% (178 reviews)[10] | 58% (36 reviews)[11] | 62% (34 reviews)[12] |
The series consists of three films:
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