Austin Powers in Goldmember
Rated PG-13 for sexual innuendo, crude humor and language.
reviewed by Christopher Lyon
Mike Myers is back for the third installment of the sometimes hilarious and always relentlessly crude Austin Powers series. And though this one offers some nice surprises and decent laughs, I’m sorry to say the series is getting a little tired. And it’s still just as gross as ever.
The Story
In addition to being an International Man of Mystery, Austin (Myers) is now an international celebrity with a movie being made about him. After finally catching Dr. Evil (also Myers) and getting him thrown in a special maximum-security prison, Austin is knighted by the queen. But then Austin’s dad (who was never really there for him) is kidnapped by the psychotic Goldmember (also also Myers), whose name means exactly what you think.
To figure out Goldmember’s plan, Austin has to go to Dr. Evil in prison for help. Soon, Austin is on his way back in time to 1975 where Goldmember is from. Once there, he joins forces with Foxy Cleopatra (Destiny Child’s Beyoncé Knowles, not Myers). Together, the two chase Goldmember and Austin’s dad back to the future.
Of course, Dr. Evil escapes from prison and Austin must once again foil his evil plan to destroy the world.
The Verdict
Some of this movie—especially the first ten minutes or so—is very funny. I won’t give it away, but it involves some unexpected faces. Speaking of faces, there’s also a funny ongoing bit about a mole in Dr. Evil’s organization (“The Wonder Year’s” Fred Savage) with a giant mole on his face.
Still, the movie as a whole felt like it lacked some of the energy of the first two movies. It seemed bogged down in trying to include everything fans expected from the other films. “Goldmember” just isn’t as funny on the whole. Even Mike Myers’ “yeah, baby” didn’t have the same enthusiasm and goofy energy this time out.
Beyoncé is fine as the strong, confident female lead. Although she dresses in lots of revealing outfits, she’s actually less exposed and compromised than previous Austin Powers babes. She’s not a great actor, but this role doesn’t call for acting as much as playing the straight woman while Austin makes silly, sexual jokes.
Did I mention the movie is gross? Pretty much every bodily organ, bodily function, and sexual dysfunction is played for gross-out laughs. Fat B. is as nasty as ever, and there’s not one but two scenes involving male urination. “Austin Powers in Goldmember” earns every bit of its PG-13 and then some for all the crude reasons you’d expect.
The other problem with “Goldmember” is that so much of it was given away in the previews, TV commercials, and specials on MTV and other networks. Many of the best jokes (especially the non-crude ones) lost their funny because I’d already seen them. And then there was the kid sitting next to me.
You know that annoying thing some people do of quoting lines from the movie out loud right after the person on screen just said it? This kid took it a step further. He’s seen so much of the “Goldmember” pre-release hype that he was quoting lines right before the characters said them. I wanted to tell him, “Oh, behave!”
The Line?
Mike Myers is unquestionably a comic genius. His ability to create new characters completely different from each other is amazing. Unfortunately, most of his humor is fueled by poop, pee, and really crude sex jokes.
Is some of that funny? Yeah. But where is the line for what Christians should go looking to laugh at? When is crude and gross not worth finding humor in (Philippians 4:8)? For me, “Goldmember” crosses that line to the point that it’s just not that much fun any more.
Discussion Questions
• Do you think there are funny things we don’t need to see? Why or why not?
• What kind of humor is funniest to you?
• What are some of your favorite Mike Myers characters?
• What annoys you most at the movies?
• How much should a movie preview give away?
• What’s the line where something that’s supposed to be funny becomes too gross? Why?
Let us know what you thought of this review!