Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) - Spoofing funny, baby, yeah!

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+ Best New Franchise of the Year + Best Poster of the Year + Best Spoof Movie of the Year

A barrage of fun quotes from the film in psychedelic 1960s styled lettering and the inimitable Mike Myers fill out this hilarious poster for Jay Roach's Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery

England's #1 spy is cryogenically frozen at the peak of 1960s 'swinging London' period, as his arch nemesis Dr. Evil does the same. 30 years later he is unfrozen, as his unique talents are needed again: Evil has reawoken with a new terrible scheme!

 

Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is written by writer/co-producer/star Mike Myers (The Love Guru (2008)) and directed by great New Mexican filmmaker Jay Roach (Zoo Radio (1990)).

It is a wildly cheerful, coarse comedy that's a grand spoof of the Bond movies and the 1960s in the West. It opens with an irresistible dance sequence, and is followed by wacky scenes in London of the past, leading into a veritable sea of vulgarities, word puns and physical gags. Will Ferrell (Zoolander (2001)), Tom Arnold (Hard Breakers (2010)) and Christian Slater (True Romance (1993)) are fun in cameos, and Robert Wagner (The Hunters (1958)) as No. 2 is really funny!

Myers has created his best and most resilient character yet here in Powers, which pulls the leg hilariously on the sexualized, male-centric, reality-detached 007 fantasy universe of the past. One might suspect that some of the film's non-stop gags are there mainly to boost the playing time, because some of them truly are detours. - But since they are mostly so funny, it doesn't really matter.

 

Related posts:

Jay Roach: Bombshell (2019) - Toxic US culture laid bare in Roach's great drama 
Trumbo (2015) - Good actors and a thrilling true story make this biopic work 

Game Change (2012, TV movie) - Moore and Co. shimmer in Roach's dynamite political retelling 
Dinner for Schmucks/Dinner with Schmucks (2010) - Carell carries Roach's flawed but utterly hilarious comedy  

2000 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

Meet the Parents (2000) - Roach, Stiller, De Niro and Co. make comedy gold

1997 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 

 

 

Watch a very short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 16.5 mil. $

Box office: 67.7 mil. $

= Big hit (returned 4.10 times its cost)

[Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery premiered 29 April (Los Angeles) and runs 91 minutes. Powers was an early 1990s SNL character that Myers created with inspiration from his father. Myers was paid 3 mil. $ for the movie. Shooting took place from August - October 1996 in Nevada, including Las Vegas, and in California, including in Los Angeles. Many of the scenes reportedly contain improvisation. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release Breakdown, to a 9.5 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 4 weekends in the top 5 (#4-#4-#4-X-X-#5), grossing 53.8 mil. $ (79.5 % of the total gross). The film did not have a big reception in the UK, which is attributed to Princess Diana's tragic death shortly prior to its release there. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. Daniel Craig said in 2014 that the Bond movies had to change to a more serious tone following Austin Powers, which made the gags the franchise had previously done "impossible" due to its satirizing them. The film spun two sequels, the first being Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Roach returned with said film. Myers first returned in 54 (1998). Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery is fresh at 74 % with a 6.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery?

MacGruber (2010) - Taccone and Forte's hilarious spoof might well be the best SNL movie to date

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+ Best Spoof Movie of the Year

 

The three immaculate stars of Jorma Taccone's MacGruber in front of a gigantic explosion, slapped with an appropriately red-glowing title

MacGruber gets pulled out of retirement for a top secret mission: His arch enemy Cunth has stolen a nuclear warhead. - Stop Cunth!

 

Will Forte (Nebraska (2013)), Kristen Wiig (Ghostbusters (2016)), Ryan Phillippe (54 (1998)), Powers Boothe (24 (2008), TV movie) and Val Kilmer (Heat (1995)) as Cunth are all howlingly funny in this cheerful and crazy idiot-comedy about the violent adventures of the worthless, titular clown MacGruber who seems to be mentally trapped in the 1980s. (The character and concept is inspired by MacGyver (1985-92)).)

MacGruber is written by John Solomon (The Last Man on Earth (2015-16)), Forte and co-writer-director Jorma Taccone (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)), whose feature debut it is. It's a little short, - probably appropriately so for the ridiculous plot, - and funny as hell!

 

Related posts:   

 

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 10 mil. $

Box office: 9.3 mil. $

= Huge flop

[MacGruber premiered March 15 (SXSW, Austin, Texas) and runs 99 minutes. Based on the 2007 SNL sketch character, which in turn was based on the 1980s action adventure TV-series MacGyver, and the 2009 MacGruber Pepsi commercials, a jumbled 177 page script was reportedly written in three weeks during normal SNL work as well and later edited down to the film we now have. Filming took place in New Mexico from August - September 2009. Forte praised the producers for allowing creative freedom. The film opened #6 to a 4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it played for just 3 weeks and grossed 8.5 mil. $ (91.4 % of the total gross). The film played in just 3 other countries, Russia, Portugal and Thailand, of which the 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Russia with 739k $ (7.9 %) and Portugal with 47k $ (0.5 %). The creator of MacGyver tried to bury the film before its release but eventually dropped litigation. Despite the terrible financial performance of the film, Forte and Taccone seem determined to make a sequel to MacGruber some day (hopefully soon.) MacGruber is rotten at 47 % with a 5.1 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of MacGruber?

Spy (2015) - Feig and McCarthy score spy spoof gold!

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+ Best Action-Comedy of the Year + Best Fight Scene of the Year: McCarthy's kitchen fight scene

The stars of Paul Feig's Spy sell the film well on this funny poster

Spy is the fresh spy parody from great writer-director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids (2011)), the #1 movie in the US right now and a movie that is spreading its action-packed fun worldwide as this is being written.

Susan Cooper has been an analyst at the CIA for years, when sudden changes send her to the front as an agent in Europe, where some rich, shady characters are readying the sale of a nuke in a suitcase!

Feig may have learned from his huge 2013 hit comedy (also starring Melissa McCarthy (St. Vincent (2014))), - which was also an action comedy, - that a real action-type plot helps for such a film: Heat wasn't really going anywhere exciting plot-wise. - Spy, on the other hand, stomps around internationally with a well-defined, clear plot objective.
Spy's plot isn't very far from the plots of 'real' action spy movies. For a spy spoof, it has just the right amount of characters, comedy interplay and action. Furthermore the action of Spy is very well-staged and exciting, and the fights, - oh yes, there are fights! - are great. - Seeing McCarthy kick ass in completely unbelievable ways is pretty f-ing cool. Especially her kitchen fight in Spy is hilarious. The film has neat cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman (The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)).
The comedy is a mix of wit, physical, gross-out, crude comedy - mostly insult comedy, - implicitly playing on McCarthy's character's coming into her own at work, as a person, and as a woman. There were a bunch of kids in the cinema I saw it in, and they had a blast, (although it is decidedly not a kids movie), as did the adults. Often in Spy, one gag or zinger's resulting laughs weren't over before the next made me laugh again. I really love the spy parody sub-genre, so it was a real joy for me to see such a resourceful cast play one out in a well-written script and clear direction, loaded with an abundance of inventive, fast-paced fun.

McCarthy is an energetic powerhouse in Spy, and I was glad to see that, perhaps due to her clout with director-friend Feig, she was not only confined to God-awful outfits. She gets to dress up here and look really good, (even if Rose Byrne's (Insidious (2010)) delightfully bitchy character tries to tear it apart for her.)
Jason Statham (Crank (2006)) is very funny in a ridiculously intense braggadocio part; Jude Law (A. I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)) works as Cooper's handsome idol; Brit Miranda Hart (Miranda (2009-15)) was a new face for me, but she was awkwardly funny as McCarthy's sidekick. Bobby Cannavale (Annie (2014)) makes a fun second villain; Allison Janney (The DUFF (2015)) is solid as a tough boss, and Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)) also took several laughs as a foreign, helpful (but awfully handsy) spy.
There are a ton of favorite moments to take away from Spy, the best light-hearted fun you'll have with a movie, perhaps for all of 2015. - So don't miss it!
Feig is a very busy man these days: He's creating a new sci-fi/comedy TV series titled Other Space (2015), directing a Reese Witherspoon comedy titled Wish List and heading the new, hugely anticipated Ghostbusters reboot, with McCarthy. - Film Excess can't wait.

Related posts:

Paul Feig: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]

2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
The Heat (2013) or, Prissy and Offensive in Boston  
Bridesmaids (2011) - Subversive comedy with laughs a-plenty

Here's the red band trailer for the movie - enjoy!

Cost: 65 mil. $
Box office: 86.5 mil. $ and counting
= Too early to say
[There's no doubt in my mind that Spy will become a financial hit, as well as a critical, - it might be Feig and McCarthy's best reviewed title to date. It is blazing through cinemas globally right now.]

What do you think of Spy?

Johnny English Reborn/Johnny English Returns (2011) - Atkinson will make you laugh till your belly aches

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Rowan Atkinson is back in a visibly intense way for Oliver Parker's Johnny English Reborn

QUICK REVIEW:

Great Britain's master spy gets dragged out of his sanctum in Tibet to stop a coming attack on China's prime minister in London, committed by a terrifying blend of KGB, CIA and MI7 known as 'Vortex'!

Some of the gags don't work, and English's new sidekick (Daniel Kaluuya (Kick-Ass 2 (2013))) doesn't add much or make much of an impression.
But Johnny English 2 still creates so many laughing fits in its audience (SPOILER I especially loved the chair scene and the scene of the attack on hot Gillian Anderson's (The Last King of Scotland (2006)) mother) that it becomes a big success as the spoof comedy that it is. - In fact, it might even be a tad better than the original Johnny English (2003).
Hamish McColl (Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007)) has written it, based on story elements by William Davies (How to Train Your Dragon (2010)), and the structure is damn near perfect. Oliver Parker (The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)) has directed it. 
Comedic genius Rowan Atkinson (Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)) is phenomenal in it. Johnny English Reborn is a must for any Atkinson fan.

Rosamund Pike attending to Rowan Atkinson's leg in Oliver Parker's Johnny English Reborn

Watch the hilarious trailer for the film here

Cost: 45 mil. $
Box office: 160 mil. $
= Big hit
[Atkinson and Johnny English are something the North Americans still don't really get; humor sometimes doesn't translate well, and he seems to be one example here: The film only grossed 8.2 mil. $ (5% of the total gross) in the US (following a meager 3.8 mil. $ opening weekend.) Atkinson appeals more broadly in several other countries which made the film a success nonetheless. But a third movie, or a wholly different comedy with Atkinson, hasn't materialized since, unfortunately.]

What do you think of Johnny English Reborn?

Casino Royale (1967) - The packed spy spoof frontrunner, a film very much of its time

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A naked, colorful lady and an impressive list of stars compete in grabbing your attention on the poster for producer Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale

QUICK REVIEW:

Everyone (almost) is James Bond in this ultimate, (and probably the first) Bond spoof, which is based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, (which is also the basis of the 2006 'real' Bond movie.)

Woody Allen (Broadway Danny Rose (1984)) is a neurotic, minority complex-plagued gnome, who hiccups atomic bombs, and Orson Welles (The Trial (1962)) plays embezzler villain Le Chiffre ...

Casino Royale sports an incredible star cast, - including also Peter Sellers, Jean Paul Belmondo, Deborah Kerr, Charles Boyer, William Holden, Ursula Andress and many others, - with several big boys behind the camera as well; directors Ken Hughes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)), John Huston (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)), Joseph McGrath (The Magic Christian (1969)), Robert Parrish (Doppelgänger (1969)) and Richard Talmadge (What's New Pussycat (1965)) and Billy Wilder (Sunset Boulevard (1950)) and Ben Hecht (Notorious (1946)) are just two of the men that supplied writing for the film.
Burt Bacharach's (What's New Pussycat (1965)) music is, well, silly and over-the-top, - just as the rest of this spy comedy.
Despite the American studio (Columbia Pictures) and many American stars and crew members, Casino has a lot of British soul and fun dead-pan-lines, especially from David Niven (55 Days at Peking (1963)), also as James Bond:

David Niven, surrounded by strangely clad, beautiful ladies, gets a chance to show off his sizable comedic chops in Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale

The film was a notorious mess production-wise, with Sellers disappearing with scenes unmade: He was reportedly afraid of Welles, who insisted on doing magic tricks in his scenes. Sellers had also hoped to have played his Bond seriously. The huge Casino Royale's budget grew bigger than contemporary Bond hits Thunderball (1965, 11 mil. $) and You Only Live Twice (1967, 9.5 mil. $), which came out 2 months after the spoof, but the zeitgeist was fortunately on its side, and it became a big hit.
Casino Royale is silly as hell, but good fun.

Woody Allen goofs around in producer Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale

Woody Allen and Ursula Andress are both James Bond on this poster for Charles K. Feldman's Casino Royale

Watch the silly trailer here and 'join the Casino Royale fun movement!'

Cost: 12 mil. $
Box office: 41.7 mil. $
= Big hit

What do you think of Casino Royale?
Other good spy spoofs?