Overall-
Cast&Crew-Mike Myers as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, and Fat Bastard, Heather Graham as Felicity Shagwell, Verne Troyer as Mini Me, Seth Green as Scott Evil, Mindy Sterling as Frau Frabissina, Robert Wagner as #2, Rob Lowe as young #2 and Jay Roach in the director's chair.
Plot Synopsis-Powers returns to the 60's to battle his archnemesis Dr. Evil.
Reflections on the Movie-The second installment of the Austin Powers' series is extremely funny throughout. Mike Myers is responsible for this as he plays three major characters. One,Powers, is a international superagent and superlover. One, Dr.Evil, is trying to take over the world. One, Fat Bastard, is just trying to get a slice of baby. All in all this makes for a hilarious movie.
New characters play a big role in this movie as well. They add a certain level of freshness which will be needed in all further installments of this series. Instead of Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) being Powers' main squeeze, Felicity Shagwell is Powers' swingin chick in the new flick. Also in SWSM, Dr. Evil has given up on his son Scott, in favor of a 1/8 clone of him, Mini Me. Dr. Evil and Mini Me provide many funny moments, with my favorite being their rendition of Will Smith's Just the Two of US. The final new character is Fat Bastard. Fat Bastard is interested in one thing and one thing only, getting a bite of Mini Me. This makes for some of the funniest moments in the entire movie.
In the end, this movie succeeds where the first one didn't in that it has more outrageous characters (Mini Me and Fat Bastard). It also did better for the simple fact that it was not a brand new product and that moviegoers knew what to expect. It also got more personal with its' characters which was a plus. An example of this is Dr. Evil making love to his assistant Frau. Also the movie has some semblance of a story in all its comic chaos.
Dvd highlights-This standout disc was put out by New Line as part of their Platinum Series. The disc includes a truckload of extras as large as Fat Bastard's belly. The extras start with Mike Myers, Jay Roach, and Mike McCullers (Producer) talking about the film in a feature length commentary. The highlight of the extras though is the wide collection of deleted scenes. The scenes don't fall far from the movie as they are very funny. The funniest scene involves Fat Bastard taking a pass at young #2. There is also a hidden Dr. Evil section which is very cool. The Dr. Evil Spy-o-graphy presented by Comedy Central is very groovy. Also on the Dvd are cast&crew biographies, featurettes explaining things about the movie, the Star Wars spoofing trailers, and three music videos.
Final Recommendation-With the price of this one ($14.44 at Walmart) you can't go wrong. The extras alone make this a must buy.
