Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

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Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
The Theatrical Poster For Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Directed by	Jay Roach
Produced by	Donna Langley Michael De Luca Erwin Stoff John S. Lyons Eric McLeod Mike Myers Jennifer Todd Suzanne Todd
Written by	Mike Myers Michael McCullers
Starring	Mike Myers Heather Graham Michael York Robert Wagner Rob Lowe
Music by	George S. Clinton Quincy Jones (Song: Soul Bossa Nova)
Cinematography	Ueli Steiger
Editing by	Debra Neil-Fisher Jon Poll
Distributed by	New Line Cinema (USA) Entertainment Film Distributors (UK)
Release date(s)	1999
Running time	95 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Preceded by	Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Followed by	Austin Powers in Goldmember
IMDb profile

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me is the second film in the Austin Powers series begun with Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and continued in Austin Powers in Goldmember. Released in 1999, the film was written by Mike Myers and screenwriter Michael McCullers and stars Myers as the title character. The films are affectionate spoofs of 1960's spy movies, in particular those featuring Ian Fleming's character James Bond with over-exaggeration of the sexual innuendo of the original. The film's title is a play on the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. The film grossed around US$310 million in worldwide ticket sales; it made more money during its opening weekend than the entire box office proceeds of its predecessor.

1 Plot
2 Featured Music
3 Title censorship
4 Cultural Influences
5 Trivia
6 Goofs
7 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Powers' arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil (also played by Myers), travels back in time to the year 1969 to steal Austin's mojo, with the help of Fat Bastard (also played by Myers). The movie also marked the debut of Mini-Me (played by Verne Troyer), Dr. Evil's deranged 1/8-size clone. The film co-stars Heather Graham (as love interest Felicity Shagwell), Seth Green (as Dr. Evil's son, Scott Evil), Robert Wagner (as Dr. Evil's henchman Number 2), Rob Lowe (playing the younger, 1969 version of Number 2), and Michael York (reprising his role as Basil Exposition from the first film).

Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Elizabeth Hurley, Jerry Springer, Michael McDonald, Will Ferrell, Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Rachel McAdams, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Kristen Johnston have cameo roles while The Alan Parsons Project is referenced by one of the films pivotal plot devices.

Following a plot device of the Bond book/movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service the eponymous hero's wife from the first film Vanessa Kensington (played by Elizabeth Hurley) is "killed off". Vanessa is revealed in the opening to be a "fembot" from Dr. Evil that proceeds to explode in an attempt to destroy Austin. However, the attempt fails and Powers is only momentarily dismayed, suddenly realizing: "Wait a tick...that means I'm single again!"

The film continues many running jokes and themes. Scott Evil asks his father why he doesn't use his time machine to kill Austin when he's "sitting on the crapper or something", to which Dr. Evil just rolls his eyes and says no. Mini-Me and Scott also develop a rivalry for Dr. Evil's affections. Scott is finally shown to be the love child of Frau Farbissina and Dr. Evil.

The film was heavily tied in with the Heineken corporation at the time of its theatrical release, having had characters featured in television commercials for the beverage and including a scene involving a bottle of the beer in the finished movie. The Starbucks coffee company was also prominently featured.

[edit] Featured Music

The movie's soundtrack contains the 1999 smash hit "Beautiful Stranger" by Madonna. The song won a Grammy in 2000. Mike Myers appears as Austin Powers in the video, directed by Brett Ratner.

Lenny Kravitz' cover of The Guess Who's "American Woman" is also part of the soundtrack and the original can be heard in a scene taking place in "Austin's pad". In addition, Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" is played in the same scene.

Dr. Evil's theme is by the band They Might Be Giants. Word Up by Melanie B also is in the soundtrack.

[edit] Title censorship

When the film was released, the title proved quite controversial in the United Kingdom, where the word shag (when used to refer to sexual intercourse) is considered vulgar. In North America, where the film was produced, the term (when used in this context) is considerably less offensive, and is considered to be more of a euphemism than an obscenity.

In the UK, two sets of TV adverts for the film existed, pre and post watershed. The former was designed to air during daytime hours and only gave part of the title ("Austin Powers: The Spy Who-") before cutting off with one of a range of slightly suggestive scenes from the film, such as Austin squeezing out the contents of a sunscreen bottle. The post watershed adverts, aired later in the evening, gave the full title. There were also two variations of the movie posters; one of them asterisked out the middle of the offending word.

Singapore briefly forced a title change to "The Spy Who Shioked Me" ("Shioked" means "treated nicely").

Not all countries translated the title into something less raunchy. The Norwegian title of the movie is "Spionen som spermet meg", which is a slightly dirtier way of saying "The spy who ejaculated on me".

[edit] Cultural Influences

At one point when Austin is walking around naked during the opening credits, the audience can see a sign that is pointing towards Casino Royale. This is a reference to the James Bond novel which was adapted into a campy 1967 film which has been identified as an inspiration for the Austin Powers series.
Dr. Evil calls one of his creations "The Alan Parsons Project" after "the noted Cambridge physicist Dr. Parsons." The Alan Parsons Project is a band that enjoyed popularity during the late 1970s and early 1980s (this is actually pointed out by Scott). Coincidentally, 1999 was also the year Alan Parsons released his album "The Time Machine", and a remix of the title track includes snippets of Dr. Evil's dialogue from the movie. (Note that following the departure of Eric Wolfson in 1987 the Project suffix was dropped.)
Heather Graham's characterisation of Felicity Shagwell was based largely on Sharon Tate's similar character, Freya Carlson, in The Wrecking Crew (1969), which in itself was a parody of the Bond films.
Several effects shots of Austin's moon-rocket are taken directly from Apollo 13. In contrast to the footage from Independence Day, this is not acknowledged in the credits.
Mini-Me is inspired by a similar character in The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996). Marlon Brando has a miniature sidekick who dresses like him and even duets with him on a tiny piano.
Mini-Me may also be a parody of Nick Nack, Scaramanga's midget henchmen in The Man With The Golden Gun.
Dr. Evil's Base in the moon is divided in two units: Moon Unit Alpha and Moon Unit Zappa, the latter being the name of Frank Zappa's daughter, Moon Unit Zappa.
Mini-Me is flushed into the vacuum of space in a similar manner where James Bond dispatches Hugo Drax into an airlock in Moonraker.
Dr. Evil's Time Machine is similar in design to the device used in the Irwin Allen TV series The Time Tunnel.
The scene where Austin and Felicity emerge from the ocean, both dressed in a white bikini, refers to Honey Rider (played by Ursula Andress) in the Bondmovie Dr. No.

[edit] Trivia

Near the beginning of the film on The Jerry Springer Show there is a noticeable member of the Ku Klux Klan, and a Nazi.
Verne Toryler was born in 1969; and presumably, the movie took place in 1969 as a reference to Verne's birthdate as Mini-Me was played by him; however some may think that it is a reference to the 69 sex position.
Basil's remark to the audience about ignoring the mechanics of time travel was unscripted.^{[citation needed]}
British porn actress Flick Shagwell derives her stage name from Heather Graham's character in the film.
This movie made more money in its opening weekend than the original, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, made in its entire theatrical run.
Austin travels back in time to 25 May 1969. Mike Myers' birthday is 25 May.
It took seven hours for Mike Myers to get into the Fat Bastard suit.
In 2006, scenes involving Fat Bastard and Mini Me were re-used for a television commercial for DirectTV, edited together with newly filmed scenes of Verne Troyer.

[edit] Goofs

The submachinegun the assassin uses is actually a MP40, the main submachinegun used by the German Army during World War II.
When Austin and Felicity are driving through the English countryside, Austin remarks on how the English countryside looks nothing like southern California. The entire movie was, of course, filmed in southern California. This scene was a spur of the moment thing, not planned dialogue. This is evidenced by Felicity saying "What?" when Austin asks her the question. (Later, some of the hills surrounding L.A. are visible in the background during a sequence supposedly taking place in downtown London.)
In the last scene where 60's partygoers are pouring in through the hole Fat Bastard left in the wall, Felicity is seen in a different robe than in the last shot.
The film contains a number of anachronisms although since the movie is a comedy these are not considered mistakes. During 1969 Fat Bastard sings the "I want my baby back ribs" jingle which wasn't launched until later, and at one point Felicity requests information from the "CIA mainframe at Langley" years before such technology actually existed.