Dir: Jay Roach
1997
****
Austin Powers is very often compared to and acknowledged as a James Bond spoof but it really isn't. It is a spoof of many a 60's spy TV show that don't actually exist, with hints of Harry Palmer, David Hemmings in Blow-Up etc. Mike Myers himself has suggested that he was influenced by actors such as Peter Sellers (which I can see) and Alec Guinness (which I can't). It's not really an Ealing comedy now is it. That is is the point though, it's actually a spoof based on a genre/character/idea that doesn't really exist. Like the guy who turns up to a 60's themed party in a giant afro, flares, fur waistcoat etc, he's got it wrong but it's fun all the same. Myers plays on this idea very well, in fact it's the core of the joke. Everything else is childish humour for adults in the form of funny sketches back to back to form a loose story. Utterly charming and genuinely funny.
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