Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery , released in 1997, is the first film of the Austin Powers series. It was directed by Jay Roach and written by Mike Myers who also stars in the title role. Myers also plays Dr. Evil, Austin Powers' arch-enemy. The film co-stars Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington, Robert Wagner as Number Two, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Michael York as Basil Exposition. There are cameos by Will Ferrell, Carrie Fisher, Tom Arnold, Rob Lowe, Christian Slater, Neil Mullarkey, and Burt Bacharach, and an uncredited cameo by MADtv star Michael McDonald, among many others.
The film is a parody of the early James Bond films (particularly those starring Sean Connery) as well as other 1960s spy films.
The film, which cost $16.5 million, opened on May 2, 1997, to positive critical reviews. It made a modest impact at the box office, grossing US$53 million in its North American release and about US$68 million worldwide. The film later became a hit and cult classic on the home video market and cable television, spawning two more commercially successful sequels.
Plot
The year is 1967. Dentally-challenged British gentleman spy Austin Powers and his nemesis Dr. Evil (both Mike Myers) have faced each other many times during the decade. As Dr. Evil's henchmen have failed to dispose of Powers, he makes his own assassination attempt at a nightclub in London, England. Powers foils the attempt and Dr. Evil escapes in a space rocket disguised as a Bob's Big Boy statue, where he places himself in a cryogenic freezing chamber to return sometime in the future. In return, Powers volunteers to have himself placed in cryostasis in case his services are needed in the future.
Dr. Evil returns thirty years later in 1997 with new evil plans for world domination and reunites with his associates, Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), Mustafa (Will Ferrell) – who was soon killed off after "problems arose in the unfreezing process", causing his cat, Mr Bigglesworth, to lose all his fur – and Number Two (Robert Wagner). During Dr. Evil's absence, Number Two has developed "Virtucon", the legitimate face of Dr. Evil's empire, into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, but Dr. Evil prefers to put one of two schemes into effect: (a) blackmail the British Royal Family, the wealthiest landowners in the world, by fabricating an extramarital affair involving Prince Charles which would lead to divorce or (b) use several industrial lasers to punch holes in the ozone layer and cause an increase in risks of skin cancer. Much to Dr. Evil's disappointment, each is rejected by Number Two because both have already happened. Instead, he decides to "do what always do: hijack some nuclear weapons and hold the world hostage." It is only after Dr. Evil suggests a ransom of $1 million that he learns of the changed monetary value, and raises the demand to $100 billion.
Having learned of the return of Dr. Evil, the British Ministry of Defence unfreezes Powers. To help him adjust to the 1990s, he is teamed with Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley), the daughter of his 1960s sidekick Mrs. Kensington (Mimi Rogers). After being reunited with his previous belongings, which include a "Swedish-made penis-enlarger pump", a receipt for a "Swedish-made penis-enlarger pump", a warranty card, and a book written by Powers entitled " Swedish-Made Penis Enlarger Pumps and Me (This Sort of Thing Is My Bag, Baby) ", Powers and Kensington jet to Las Vegas in search of Dr. Evil. However, Powers' free love credo from the 1960s does not go down well with Kensington, who continues to resist his advances.
Meanwhile, Dr. Evil learns that during his absence his associates have artificially created his son, Scott (Seth Green), using his frozen semen. Now a Generation X teenager, Scott resents his father's absence, and they attend a "fathers and sons" group therapy session (Hosted in cameo by Carrie Fisher).
Posing as a married couple, Powers and Kensington check into a hotel and are put on the trail of Number Two, using the alias' of Richie and Oprah Cunningham. During their time in Las Vegas, Kensington gradually warms to Powers' charms, but he refuses to take advantage of her while she is intoxicated. Over a game of blackjack, Powers meets Number Two's buxom "Italian confidential private secretary," Alotta Fagina. Under instructions from the British Secret Service, Powers breaks into Fagina's penthouse apartment. He investigates and finds secret plans for Dr. Evil's "Project Vulcan". After learning that Project Vulcan involves driving a nuclear warhead into the Earth's molten core to trigger massive volcanic eruptions worldwide, Powers is discovered by Fagina. Fagina allows Powers to stay and he watches her silhouette strip naked through the door of another room. Fagina invites Powers inside to relax with her in a hot tub. Fagina seduces Powers as a distraction in order to learn his true identity. Meanwhile, Dr. Evil learns that Powers is after him, but his entourage have identified Powers' libido as his weakness and created a group of fembots; beautiful, blonde female androids equipped with automatic guns concealed in their breasts. Frau tests their new weapon on their own guards and they perform flawlessly, getting the guards to lower their guns with their physical attraction, and then killing them with their breast guns.
The British Secret Service discover that Virtucon conducts tourist tours of its headquarters, and this is considered an ideal opportunity for Powers and Kensington to infiltrate. After bamboozling a security guard to gain entrance to the restricted area, Powers and Kensington are apprehended by Dr. Evil's henchman, Random Task (Joe Son).
Dr. Evil presents his ultimatum to the United Nations (here represented by diplomats seated around a table with stereotypical international figures such as matadors and sumo wrestlers surrounding them) and they concede to his demands. However, he is so evil that he decides to keep the ransom but still destroy the world. Powers and Kensington are then placed in "an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death" from which they escape, and Kensington is sent for help.
While Project Vulcan is put into operation, Powers tries to find Dr. Evil but stumbles upon the fembots, which are in fuzzy, see-through nightgowns. They enter performing cartwheels, then jump on his shoulders, which allow them to cover him with a pink gas that "came out of their jubblies" as Powers later explained. Powers lies in bed with the fembots, as they rub their hands on him he tries to snap out of it by thinking of non-sexual things. He then snaps out of it and eventually overcomes them with the use of his sexy body.
Led by Kensington, British forces raid the underground lair, and at the last moment Powers stops the doomsday device. Powers confronts Dr. Evil and is joined by Kensington, who is being held hostage by Alotta Fagina. They are interrupted by Number Two, who resents Dr. Evil's illegitimate plans after he has been so successful in the conventional business world and wishes to make a deal with Powers. Before he can, Dr. Evil (apparently) kills Number Two and seizes his opportunity to initiate the self-destruct mechanism and, once again, escapes in his cryogenic freezing chamber inside the "Big Boy" spaceship. Powers and Kensington escape in Powers' conveniently parked shaguar while the underground lair is destroyed in a nuclear explosion.
Powers and Kensington are later married, but during their honeymoon Powers is attacked by Dr. Evil's henchman, Random Task. Defeated in conventional combat, Powers subdues the assassin through the use of his "Swedish-made penis enlarger pump", allowing Kensington to knock him out with a glass bottle to the head. In a romantic moment, the couple adjourn to their balcony to observe the stars. Noticing a rather bright star, Powers pulls out a telescope to discover that it is in fact Dr. Evil's cryogenic chamber in which Dr. Evil vows to "get" Austin Powers.
Cast
See also: Characters of Austin Powers
- Mike Myers as:
- Austin Powers. Austin Powers' flamboyant fashion sense shows strong similarities to the TV character Jason King, while his copious chest hair is a homage to the Sean Connery-acted version of James Bond and his glasses are owed mainly to Harry Palmer and partly to Peter Sellers' 'Evelyn Bond 'character in the 1967 Bond spoof Casino Royale . His main outfit also resembles one worn by George Lazenby in the 1969 James Bond Film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service . The fact that he is woken up after years of being frozen to fight his enemy again is a parody of the premise of Adam Adamant Lives! . The idea of Austin Powers being a photographer chased by beautiful women is a reference to Davide Hemmings' character in the film Blowup .
- Dr. Evil, a spoof of James Bond's nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld. His famous pinkie-on-mouth gesture is based on the doctor from The Twilight Zone ' s Number 12 Looks Just Like You.
Production
Inspiration
Mike Myers has stated that he was inspired to create the character after hearing the song "The Look of Love" on the radio, which was the theme song of Ursula Andress's character Vesper Lynd in the 1967 version of Casino Royale , and thus the film has many of the late 60s psychedelic pop culture stylings of that earlier film. Not only Casino Royale, but elements from all the early James Bond movies are used for spoof or inspiration.
- Dr No (1962) - Shower sequence during the unfreeze sequence, Austin's and Vanessa's
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