list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Austin_Powers_The_Spy_Who_Shagged_Me/134113/default.aspx Title: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Year: 1999
Director: Jay Roach
Plot: Austin Powers -- fashion photographer, denizen of Swingin' London, international espionage agent, and bane of dental hygienists everywhere -- returns in his second screen adventure. Powers (once again played by Mike Myers), a 1960s superspy stranded in the 1990s, discovers that his nemesis, criminal genius Dr. Evil (also Mike Myers), has somehow stolen his "mojo" (the secret to his otherwise inexplicable sex appeal) and traveled back in time to the 1960s as part of his latest fiendish scheme. Powers must also travel back in time to retrieve it, but if Austin doesn't quite fit into 1998, he's been there just long enough not to fit in in 1968 anymore, either. Powers also discovers that Dr. Evil has new allies this time: Mini-Me (Verne Troyer), a clone of Dr. Evil one-eighth his size but just as nasty; Fat Bastard (Myers yet again), whose name describes him just fine; and vixenish assassin Robin Swallows (Gia Carides). Powers' lack of mojo also proves troublesome when he's paired with his new partner, saucy CIA operative Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham). Other characters returning from the first film include Elizabeth Hurley as Vanessa Kensington, Robert Wagner as Number Two, Michael York as Basil Exposition, Seth Green as Scott Evil, and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me also includes cameo appearances from Tim Robbins, Jerry Springer, Woody Harrelson, and Burt Bacharach with his current songwriting partner, Elvis Costello. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 70
Number of Lists: 68
Number of blog posts: 4
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:57:25 GMTAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me1999Jay RoachAustin Powers -- fashion photographer, denizen of Swingin' London, international espionage agent, and bane of dental hygienists everywhere -- returns in his second screen adventure. Powers (once again played by <a href="/players/P____51621/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mike Myers</a>), a 1960s superspy stranded in the 1990s, discovers that his nemesis, criminal genius Dr. Evil (also <a href="/players/P____51621/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mike Myers</a>), has somehow stolen his "mojo" (the secret to his otherwise inexplicable sex appeal) and traveled back in time to the 1960s as part of his latest fiendish scheme. Powers must also travel back in time to retrieve it, but if Austin doesn't quite fit into 1998, he's been there just long enough not to fit in in 1968 anymore, either. Powers also discovers that Dr. Evil has new allies this time: Mini-Me (<a href="/players/P___271546/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Verne Troyer</a>), a clone of Dr. Evil one-eighth his size but just as nasty; Fat Bastard (Myers yet again), whose name describes him just fine; and vixenish assassin Robin Swallows (<a href="/players/P____10911/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Gia Carides</a>). Powers' lack of mojo also proves troublesome when he's paired with his new partner, saucy CIA operative Felicity Shagwell (<a href="/players/P____28094/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Heather Graham</a>). Other characters returning from the first film include <a href="/players/P____34075/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Elizabeth Hurley</a> as Vanessa Kensington, <a href="/players/P____74078/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Robert Wagner</a> as Number Two, <a href="/players/P____78072/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Michael York</a> as Basil Exposition, <a href="/players/P____28493/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Seth Green</a> as Scott Evil, and Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me also includes cameo appearances from <a href="/players/P___108437/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Tim Robbins</a>, <a href="/players/P___265399/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jerry Springer</a>, <a href="/players/P____30548/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Woody Harrelson</a>, and <a href="/players/P____80337/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Burt Bacharach</a> with his current songwriting partner, <a href="/players/P____86023/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Elvis Costello</a>. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide70Tag Target (>10)6843http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t56487v15gc.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Austin_Powers_The_Spy_Who_Shagged_Me/134113/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/the_mow/archive/2009/5/7/42131.aspx Post By: The_MOW
Post To: The_MOW Blog
Post Date: 5/7/2009 7:25:45 PM
Body: Moments after the first movie ends, we rejoin British secret agent "Austin Powers" (Mike Myers) on his honeymoon, and after an intimate moment, he discovers that his wife is actually a "Fem-Bot" which is loaded with explosives. He is then thrust back into the swinging singles scene. But his celebration is cut short when his arch nemesis, "Dr. Evil" (Myers) returns. "Dr. Evil" has a time travel device made, and he, along with his minature clone "Mini-Me" (Vern Troyer), goes back to 1969, two years after "Powers" was cryogenically frozen, to steal the swinging secret agent's mojo in hopes that it will render "Powers" powerless. But British Intelligence has developed its own time machine, in the form of a psychedelically painted Volkswagon Beetle, which "Powers" uses to go back in time to get back his mojo, and to defeat "Dr. Evil" yet again. This movie could have been a lot better than what it is. There are a few jokes that work, but not many. One humongous problem is that many of the jokes are ones from the original film, but repackaged. In my opinion, many of the repackaged jokes just don't work or, at best, will make you chuckle. Another thing which really made no sense were the "Laugh-in"-esque dance sequences which are used as transition from one scene to the next. There are many weak performances in this film, mostly because of the weak script which steals from the original film. Myers is fairly funny as "Powers" and "Dr. Evil," but only mildly amusing as "Fat Bastard". The too cute to be a sexy "Bond Girl", Heather Graham is pretty good as Myers "straight-woman" in the jokes department, but she isn't that believable when she utters some of her lines. The only one who really stands out in this movie is Myers, the rest of the cast is pretty forgettable. Many of the characters lack development in this movie, but many others have some pretty fair development. We also get to meet some of the more memorable characters in this series, such as "Mini-Me". There really isn't much action and suspense that the movies this film spoofs are known for. But when there is some action, it's usually to set up some joke or visual gag. The wardrobes in this film appear to be right on the mark, especially the 1960's duds. Even the hairdos are quite authentic. The special effects are not that great, and many things appear to be models or miniatures, which might be a nod to the special effects of the 1950's-1960's movie era. To me, they could have been done a little better. Personally, I think that this would be a fair fourth choice rental if your first three choices are not available. And if this has been added to your video library, save this one for a rainy day.
]]>Thu, 07 May 2009 23:25:45 GMTThe_MOWThe_MOW Blog5/7/2009 7:25:45 PMMoments after the first movie ends, we rejoin British secret agent "Austin Powers" (Mike Myers) on his honeymoon, and after an intimate moment, he discovers that his wife is actually a "Fem-Bot" which is loaded with explosives. He is then thrust back into the swinging singles scene. But his celebration is cut short when his arch nemesis, "Dr. Evil" (Myers) returns. "Dr. Evil" has a time travel device made, and he, along with his minature clone "Mini-Me" (Vern Troyer), goes back to 1969, two years after "Powers" was cryogenically frozen, to steal the swinging secret agent's mojo in hopes that it will render "Powers" powerless. But British Intelligence has developed its own time machine, in the form of a psychedelically painted Volkswagon Beetle, which "Powers" uses to go back in time to get back his mojo, and to defeat "Dr. Evil" yet again. This movie could have been a lot better than what it is. There are a few jokes that work, but not many. One humongous problem is that many of the jokes are ones from the original film, but repackaged. In my opinion, many of the repackaged jokes just don't work or, at best, will make you chuckle. Another thing which really made no sense were the "Laugh-in"-esque dance sequences which are used as transition from one scene to the next. There are many weak performances in this film, mostly because of the weak script which steals from the original film. Myers is fairly funny as "Powers" and "Dr. Evil," but only mildly amusing as "Fat Bastard". The too cute to be a sexy "Bond Girl", Heather Graham is pretty good as Myers "straight-woman" in the jokes department, but she isn't that believable when she utters some of her lines. The only one who really stands out in this movie is Myers, the rest of the cast is pretty forgettable. Many of the characters lack development in this movie, but many others have some pretty fair development. We also get to meet some of the more memorable characters in this series, such as "Mini-Me". There really isn't much action and suspense that the movies this film spoofs are known for. But when there is some action, it's usually to set up some joke or visual gag. The wardrobes in this film appear to be right on the mark, especially the 1960's duds. Even the hairdos are quite authentic. The special effects are not that great, and many things appear to be models or miniatures, which might be a nod to the special effects of the 1950's-1960's movie era. To me, they could have been done a little better. Personally, I think that this would be a fair fourth choice rental if your first three choices are not available. And if this has been added to your video library, save this one for a rainy day. http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/11/3/36913.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 11/3/2008 5:00:53 PM
Body: A man was arrested in London last week for imitating James Bond. He wasn’t going around and ordering vodka martinis though, he had numerous fake IDs, replica guns, and even a personalized wallet styled after From Russia With Love. That’s dedication right there. We’ve had James Bond imitators in the movies for more than 40 years, but sadly none of them have ever been arrested. Although thankfully, a few of them have been entertaining. Check out the James Bond knockoffs in the list below, as we ramp up towards Quantum of Solace. Our Man Flint The United States didn’t have a dashing and cool super-spy hero like Britain’s James Bond, so in 1964 James Coburn stepped into the role of Derek Flint. Flint was an ex-spy for Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage… I kid you not) who was lured out of retirement and forced to battle three mad scientists who wanted to control the world’s weather. At one point, he meets up with an agent 0008, who looks and dresses like Sean Connery. The movie spawned a sequel, In Like Flint, and later helped inspire Austin Powers. The Matt Helm Movies Between 1966 and 1969 Dean Martin starred as Matt Helm in The Silencers, Murderers’ Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. He was a wisecracking super-spy who often found himself in comedic situations. Although the books these movies were based on were fairly serious, the producers decided not to try and compete with James Bond and made these a lot lighter. These movies were also cited as direct inspirations for Austin Powers, and later for the 1970s James Bond films, which often copied the set pieces from the Helm films. Dreamworks currently holds the rights to the Matt Helm series, and is apparently working on a new adaptation. Casino Royale Long before Daniel Craig stepped into the tuxedo as James Bond, there was an original James Bond spoof of Casino Royale in 1967. Produced as a comedy by Columbia Pictures, this movie features six different James Bonds in an effort to throw off his enemies, and is most famous because Peter Sellers (as Jimmy Bond) walked off the set and didn’t return to finish his role. Although most of this was blamed on uneasy feelings between Orson Welles and Sellers, the movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers portrays it as Sellers trying to play the role seriously, and walking off when people wanted him to play it slapstick. OK Connery This actually happened. Italian producers hoping to cash in on the spy craze of the 1960s wrote this James Bond parody where James Bond isn’t available, so they use his kid brother. What’s even more bizarre is that they used Sean Connery’s actual brother Neil in this film, and his character is named Connery, although his lines were all dubbed by an American actor. Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee reprise their roles as Moneypenny and M in this movie, it was released in the U.S. as Operation Kid Brother, and was later razzed on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as Operation Double 007. Truly bizarre. Spy Hard This Leslie Nielsen movie tried to ride in on the Naked Gun coattails, but just showed us a fairly tired and overused character. Nielsen played Agent Dick Steele (ouch), and would go on to play the same bumbling character with different names in other movies, but this one is especially bad. You know it’s a bad sign when Mr. T, Hulk Hogan and Pat Morita are your “guest stars.” The best thing about this movie is the James Bond-esque opening title sequence from Weird Al Yankovic. Which also belabors the point about guest stars. Johnny English Most people know Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, and they either love him or loathe him. I fall in the former camp, which is probably why I enjoyed this parody of the Bond films so much. The character was actually based on another Atkinson role, Richard Latham from the Barclaycard ads in the UK. He works for MI6 and is actually a bumbling spy wannabe who constantly makes mistakes. Many of the gags from the commercials made it into the movie, and last year Atkinson said on British TV that a sequel is in the works. Austin Powers Easily the most famous parodies of James Bond, the Austin Powers franchise is three films long, and during junkets for The Love Guru earlier this year Mike Myers said that he has an idea for a new Powers movie, so chances are you’ll see the crushed velvet suit and bad teeth once again. Myers has said that his inspirations included Our Man Flint, the Matt Helm movies, Vincent Price’s movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Michael Caine in The Ipcress FIle, and plenty of others. While it’s obviosuly an amalgam of many roles, the James Bond influence is the strongest throughout all of these films, as evidenced by the subsequent titles The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Goldmember. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:00:53 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com11/3/2008 5:00:53 PMA man was arrested in London last week for imitating James Bond. He wasn’t going around and ordering vodka martinis though, he had numerous fake IDs, replica guns, and even a personalized wallet styled after From Russia With Love. That’s dedication right there. We’ve had James Bond imitators in the movies for more than 40 years, but sadly none of them have ever been arrested. Although thankfully, a few of them have been entertaining. Check out the James Bond knockoffs in the list below, as we ramp up towards Quantum of Solace. Our Man Flint The United States didn’t have a dashing and cool super-spy hero like Britain’s James Bond, so in 1964 James Coburn stepped into the role of Derek Flint. Flint was an ex-spy for Z.O.W.I.E. (Zonal Organization World Intelligence Espionage… I kid you not) who was lured out of retirement and forced to battle three mad scientists who wanted to control the world’s weather. At one point, he meets up with an agent 0008, who looks and dresses like Sean Connery. The movie spawned a sequel, In Like Flint, and later helped inspire Austin Powers. The Matt Helm Movies Between 1966 and 1969 Dean Martin starred as Matt Helm in The Silencers, Murderers’ Row, The Ambushers, and The Wrecking Crew. He was a wisecracking super-spy who often found himself in comedic situations. Although the books these movies were based on were fairly serious, the producers decided not to try and compete with James Bond and made these a lot lighter. These movies were also cited as direct inspirations for Austin Powers, and later for the 1970s James Bond films, which often copied the set pieces from the Helm films. Dreamworks currently holds the rights to the Matt Helm series, and is apparently working on a new adaptation. Casino Royale Long before Daniel Craig stepped into the tuxedo as James Bond, there was an original James Bond spoof of Casino Royale in 1967. Produced as a comedy by Columbia Pictures, this movie features six different James Bonds in an effort to throw off his enemies, and is most famous because Peter Sellers (as Jimmy Bond) walked off the set and didn’t return to finish his role. Although most of this was blamed on uneasy feelings between Orson Welles and Sellers, the movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers portrays it as Sellers trying to play the role seriously, and walking off when people wanted him to play it slapstick. OK Connery This actually happened. Italian producers hoping to cash in on the spy craze of the 1960s wrote this James Bond parody where James Bond isn’t available, so they use his kid brother. What’s even more bizarre is that they used Sean Connery’s actual brother Neil in this film, and his character is named Connery, although his lines were all dubbed by an American actor. Lois Maxwell and Bernard Lee reprise their roles as Moneypenny and M in this movie, it was released in the U.S. as Operation Kid Brother, and was later razzed on Mystery Science Theater 3000 as Operation Double 007. Truly bizarre. Spy Hard This Leslie Nielsen movie tried to ride in on the Naked Gun coattails, but just showed us a fairly tired and overused character. Nielsen played Agent Dick Steele (ouch), and would go on to play the same bumbling character with different names in other movies, but this one is especially bad. You know it’s a bad sign when Mr. T, Hulk Hogan and Pat Morita are your “guest stars.” The best thing about this movie is the James Bond-esque opening title sequence from Weird Al Yankovic. Which also belabors the point about guest stars. Johnny English Most people know Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, and they either love him or loathe him. I fall in the former camp, which is probably why I enjoyed this parody of the Bond films so much. The character was actually based on another Atkinson role, Richard Latham from the Barclaycard ads in the UK. He works for MI6 and is actually a bumbling spy wannabe who constantly makes mistakes. Many of the gags from the commercials made it into the movie, and last year Atkinson said on British TV that a sequel is in the works. Austin Powers Easily the most famous parodies of James Bond, the Austin Powers franchise is three films long, and during junkets for The Love Guru earlier this year Mike Myers said that he has an idea for a new Powers movie, so chances are you’ll see the crushed velvet suit and bad teeth once again. Myers has said that his inspirations included Our Man Flint, the Matt Helm movies, Vincent Price’s movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Michael Caine in The Ipcress FIle, and plenty of others. While it’s obviosuly an amalgam of many roles, the James Bond influence is the strongest throughout all of these films, as evidenced by the subsequent titles The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Goldmember. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/8/21/34239.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/21/2008 4:01:18 PM
Body: This week, thanks to The Rocker, we can add another fictional band to the long list of music groups created solely for the movies. They’re called Vesuvius, and they’re an ‘80s hair band with a hit song titled “Promised Land.” As part of the film’s marketing, the track was offered as a free download for play on Rock Band (see the clip above). But if you ask me, the wrong tune was used in the promotion. Another song from the soundtrack, also credited to Vesuvius, is called “Pompeii Nights,” and it’s definitely the better of the two. I’m not surprised, though. While most people favor the songs of Spinal Tap, a once-fictional band that has become popular enough to evolve into a “semi-fictional” performing act, I’ve preferred such gems as “The Whites of Their Eyes” by PEZ® People, from The Big Picture. Also co-written by This is Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, and sung by McKean, this song is apparently so underrated that I can’t even find an audio sample, let along a YouTube clip of the fake band’s music video, which was directed by fictional filmmaker Lydia Johnson (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Fortunately, for the benefit of this list, the rest of these under-appreciated tracks have a few fellow fans. “Howard the Duck” by Cherry Bomb, from Howard the Duck I’m still certain that I was this movie’s biggest fan. While growing up, I owned a VHS copy, the comic book adaptation and the novelization, and I still watched the edited version whenever it showed up on commercial television. Unfortunately, though, I never owned the soundtrack, which is, unsurprisingly, out of print (though available on eBay). It’s okay, because the catchy theme song has forever been lodged in my head. Performed diegetically by a fictional Runaways-inspired band, the Razzie-nominated “Howard the Duck” features vocals by actress Lea Thompson and funk legend George Clinton, plus Joe Walsh on guitar and Thomas Dolby, who co-wrote and produced all of Cherry Bomb’s songs, on synthesizer (off screen the song is credited to “Dolby Cube”). Cherry Bomb had four songs in the movie’s soundtrack, and some were definitely better than others. “Hunger City” is also kinda catchy, but that’s possibly only because it sounds reminiscent of Hall & Oats’ “Family Man.” Meanwhile, I absolutely love the slower “Don’t Turn Away,” which, unlike the title number, lacks Clinton’s vocals and Walsh’s guitar playing; yet it makes up for it with a little harmonica part performed by none other than Stevie Wonder. Perhaps its just my being a fan of ‘80s girl groups like The Go-Gos (check out Thompson doing a duet with Belinda Carlisle here) and The Bangles, but I could really have gone for a full album, and maybe a tour, a la Spinal Tap, from Cherry Bomb. “BBC” by Ming Tea, from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery As far as fictional ‘60s bands go, Ming Tea is by far my favorite over such groups as The Oneders, aka The Wonders (from That Thing You Do!) and The Rutles (from All You Need is Cash), the latter of which is only as good as the Beatles tunes they spoof. Of course, I do like to think only of this poppy number from the first film, as well as the “psychedelic scene breaks” from the first and second films and ignore the relatively ‘90s-sounding “Daddy Wasn’t There” from Austin Powers in Goldmember, which seems like a reject from one of Matthew Sweet’s later albums (Sweet is a member of and co-songwriter for the fictional Ming Tea). Again, part of my love for Ming Tea could be due to my love for The Bangles, whose Susanna Hoffs was a member of the fake group (she is also the wife of Jay Roach, who directed all three Austin Powers movies). Someday I’d like to see another Nuggets box set featuring only fictional garage rock bands like Ming Tea, The Archies, etc. “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” by The Riverbottom Nightmare Band (or simply The Nightmare), from Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas Speaking of The Archies, if a fictional rock band from a cartoon can have a hit song continually played on oldies radio, why can’t this fictional rock band from a Muppet TV special get the same treatment? Is it because the vocals are actually pretty terrible? Is it because they’re the villains of the story? Maybe The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” was the #1 pop song of 1969, but this eponymous tune was written by Oscar-winner Paul Williams, who also gave us such memorable songs as “(Just an) Old Fashioned Love Song,” “The Rainbow Connection” and The Carpenters’ “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Plus, if it’s any consolation, RNB’s keyboardist, a bear named Chuck, could totally kick Archie’s ass. Also worthy of radio play, though it’s probably not quite as underrated: “Can You Picture That” by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, from The Muppet Movie (and also co-written by Williams). “Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye” by The Juicy Fruits, from Phantom of the Paradise I’m not always a big fan of this doo-wop revival kind of glam rock, but I really like this track from Brian DePalma’s musical, favoring it over such “real” tunes as Gary Glitter’s cover of Dion’s “The Wanderer” and “made-up” songs as those in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Maybe it’s because this song is also penned by Paul Williams? Technically, because the movie bombed and is still hardly celebrated (at least compared to TRHPS), the whole soundtrack should be on this list. “Two-Way Romeo” by The Bang Bang, from Brothers of the Head I don’t think anyone else even saw this faux rock documentary (it’s not funny enough to be considered a mockumentary), let alone paid attention to its better-than-necessary soundtrack. Basically the song is by British pop-punk band Crackout (or members of the band, anyway), but it’s pretty authentic sounding for the film’s ‘70s setting. “Never Did No Wanderin’” by The Folksmen, from A Mighty Wind Part of my disappointment with this movie was that the songs are actually pretty good — and not necessarily funny. Silly, yes. Witty, yes. But not exactly over the top, laugh-out-loud funny, the way I prefer Christopher Guest movies to be. Yet I would actually go see The Folksmen before I would go see Spinal Tap, which features the same three actors (Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, who in fact opened for themselves by having The Folkmen and Spinal Tap tour together in 2001). If they didn’t perform their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up,” though, I would be very dissatisfied. Much of the non-Folksmen songs on the soundtrack are actually pretty lame, including the Oscar-nominated “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow.” I believe that had it all been more upbeat, a la The Folksmen’s “Old Joe’s Place” (which, along with “Blood on the Coal,” was actually introduced on Saturday Night Live way back in 1984), “Corn Wine” and “Never Did No Wanderin’” it could have been as successful an album as the O Brother, Where Art Thou? CDs. “Sweat of My Balls” by CB4, from CB4 The more memorable song from this near-mockumentary might be “Straight Outta Locash,” yet like the songs by The Rutles, it’s too clear a redo of a preexisting song (N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton”). I guess I’m not that knowledgeable about rap music, but I had always thought “Sweat of My Balls” was actually original. Turns out, it’s actually a parody of Kool G. Rap’s “Talk Like Sex.” Well, since that song is also underrated (enough that I’d never heard of it), I stand by my inclusion of the less familiar-sounding CB4 track. “My Peanuts” by N.W.H., from Fear of a Black Hat I am at least aware that this song, which comes from a film similar to — though much less successful than — CB4, is a redo of Run-DMC’s “My Addidas.” But it’s so damn ridiculous that I wasn’t able to make the connection between the songs until many years after first seeing the movie. Just imagine how popular peanuts would be if the National Peanut Board used this rap in advertisements. “(Just Around the Corner to the) Light of Day” by The Barbusters, from Light of Day It’s not uncommon for a song written for a movie to become a real-world hit. And when it’s written by Bruce Springsteen, as this one was, you almost expect it to be a success. Yet despite the fact that both Springsteen and Joan Jett, who stars in the film as a member of the fictional Barbusters, have made the tune a staple of their respective live concert sets, it still doesn’t get the kind of general attention paid to, say, “On the Dark Side” from that other ‘80s bar band movie, Eddie and the Cruisers. Why isn’t this played heavily on classic rock radio? And by “this” I of course mean the version featuring Michael J. Fox and, yes, Michael McKean (man, he loves the fictional bands). “It Don’t Worry Me” by Albuquerque, from Nashville This is just a solo singer (played by Barbara Harris) rather than a whole group, but she’s still fictional and the song was still written for the film. And it’s sung during what may be the best film ending of all time (hence its appropriate position at the end of the list). Somehow Keith Carradine won an Oscar for writing the most boring tune in this Robert Altman classic (“I’m Easy”), while this song, also written by Carradine, is clearly more enjoyable. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:01:18 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/21/2008 4:01:18 PM This week, thanks to The Rocker, we can add another fictional band to the long list of music groups created solely for the movies. They’re called Vesuvius, and they’re an ‘80s hair band with a hit song titled “Promised Land.” As part of the film’s marketing, the track was offered as a free download for play on Rock Band (see the clip above). But if you ask me, the wrong tune was used in the promotion. Another song from the soundtrack, also credited to Vesuvius, is called “Pompeii Nights,” and it’s definitely the better of the two. I’m not surprised, though. While most people favor the songs of Spinal Tap, a once-fictional band that has become popular enough to evolve into a “semi-fictional” performing act, I’ve preferred such gems as “The Whites of Their Eyes” by PEZ® People, from The Big Picture. Also co-written by This is Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest and Michael McKean, and sung by McKean, this song is apparently so underrated that I can’t even find an audio sample, let along a YouTube clip of the fake band’s music video, which was directed by fictional filmmaker Lydia Johnson (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Fortunately, for the benefit of this list, the rest of these under-appreciated tracks have a few fellow fans. “Howard the Duck” by Cherry Bomb, from Howard the Duck I’m still certain that I was this movie’s biggest fan. While growing up, I owned a VHS copy, the comic book adaptation and the novelization, and I still watched the edited version whenever it showed up on commercial television. Unfortunately, though, I never owned the soundtrack, which is, unsurprisingly, out of print (though available on eBay). It’s okay, because the catchy theme song has forever been lodged in my head. Performed diegetically by a fictional Runaways-inspired band, the Razzie-nominated “Howard the Duck” features vocals by actress Lea Thompson and funk legend George Clinton, plus Joe Walsh on guitar and Thomas Dolby, who co-wrote and produced all of Cherry Bomb’s songs, on synthesizer (off screen the song is credited to “Dolby Cube”). Cherry Bomb had four songs in the movie’s soundtrack, and some were definitely better than others. “Hunger City” is also kinda catchy, but that’s possibly only because it sounds reminiscent of Hall & Oats’ “Family Man.” Meanwhile, I absolutely love the slower “Don’t Turn Away,” which, unlike the title number, lacks Clinton’s vocals and Walsh’s guitar playing; yet it makes up for it with a little harmonica part performed by none other than Stevie Wonder. Perhaps its just my being a fan of ‘80s girl groups like The Go-Gos (check out Thompson doing a duet with Belinda Carlisle here) and The Bangles, but I could really have gone for a full album, and maybe a tour, a la Spinal Tap, from Cherry Bomb. “BBC” by Ming Tea, from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery As far as fictional ‘60s bands go, Ming Tea is by far my favorite over such groups as The Oneders, aka The Wonders (from That Thing You Do!) and The Rutles (from All You Need is Cash), the latter of which is only as good as the Beatles tunes they spoof. Of course, I do like to think only of this poppy number from the first film, as well as the “psychedelic scene breaks” from the first and second films and ignore the relatively ‘90s-sounding “Daddy Wasn’t There” from Austin Powers in Goldmember, which seems like a reject from one of Matthew Sweet’s later albums (Sweet is a member of and co-songwriter for the fictional Ming Tea). Again, part of my love for Ming Tea could be due to my love for The Bangles, whose Susanna Hoffs was a member of the fake group (she is also the wife of Jay Roach, who directed all three Austin Powers movies). Someday I’d like to see another Nuggets box set featuring only fictional garage rock bands like Ming Tea, The Archies, etc. “Riverbottom Nightmare Band” by The Riverbottom Nightmare Band (or simply The Nightmare), from Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas Speaking of The Archies, if a fictional rock band from a cartoon can have a hit song continually played on oldies radio, why can’t this fictional rock band from a Muppet TV special get the same treatment? Is it because the vocals are actually pretty terrible? Is it because they’re the villains of the story? Maybe The Archies’ “Sugar Sugar” was the #1 pop song of 1969, but this eponymous tune was written by Oscar-winner Paul Williams, who also gave us such memorable songs as “(Just an) Old Fashioned Love Song,” “The Rainbow Connection” and The Carpenters’ “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Plus, if it’s any consolation, RNB’s keyboardist, a bear named Chuck, could totally kick Archie’s ass. Also worthy of radio play, though it’s probably not quite as underrated: “Can You Picture That” by Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, from The Muppet Movie (and also co-written by Williams). “Goodbye, Eddie, Goodbye” by The Juicy Fruits, from Phantom of the Paradise I’m not always a big fan of this doo-wop revival kind of glam rock, but I really like this track from Brian DePalma’s musical, favoring it over such “real” tunes as Gary Glitter’s cover of Dion’s “The Wanderer” and “made-up” songs as those in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Maybe it’s because this song is also penned by Paul Williams? Technically, because the movie bombed and is still hardly celebrated (at least compared to TRHPS), the whole soundtrack should be on this list. “Two-Way Romeo” by The Bang Bang, from Brothers of the Head I don’t think anyone else even saw this faux rock documentary (it’s not funny enough to be considered a mockumentary), let alone paid attention to its better-than-necessary soundtrack. Basically the song is by British pop-punk band Crackout (or members of the band, anyway), but it’s pretty authentic sounding for the film’s ‘70s setting. “Never Did No Wanderin’” by The Folksmen, from A Mighty Wind Part of my disappointment with this movie was that the songs are actually pretty good — and not necessarily funny. Silly, yes. Witty, yes. But not exactly over the top, laugh-out-loud funny, the way I prefer Christopher Guest movies to be. Yet I would actually go see The Folksmen before I would go see Spinal Tap, which features the same three actors (Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer, who in fact opened for themselves by having The Folkmen and Spinal Tap tour together in 2001). If they didn’t perform their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up,” though, I would be very dissatisfied. Much of the non-Folksmen songs on the soundtrack are actually pretty lame, including the Oscar-nominated “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow.” I believe that had it all been more upbeat, a la The Folksmen’s “Old Joe’s Place” (which, along with “Blood on the Coal,” was actually introduced on Saturday Night Live way back in 1984), “Corn Wine” and “Never Did No Wanderin’” it could have been as successful an album as the O Brother, Where Art Thou? CDs. “Sweat of My Balls” by CB4, from CB4 The more memorable song from this near-mockumentary might be “Straight Outta Locash,” yet like the songs by The Rutles, it’s too clear a redo of a preexisting song (N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton”). I guess I’m not that knowledgeable about rap music, but I had always thought “Sweat of My Balls” was actually original. Turns out, it’s actually a parody of Kool G. Rap’s “Talk Like Sex.” Well, since that song is also underrated (enough that I’d never heard of it), I stand by my inclusion of the less familiar-sounding CB4 track. “My Peanuts” by N.W.H., from Fear of a Black Hat I am at least aware that this song, which comes from a film similar to — though much less successful than — CB4, is a redo of Run-DMC’s “My Addidas.” But it’s so damn ridiculous that I wasn’t able to make the connection between the songs until many years after first seeing the movie. Just imagine how popular peanuts would be if the National Peanut Board used this rap in advertisements. “(Just Around the Corner to the) Light of Day” by The Barbusters, from Light of Day It’s not uncommon for a song written for a movie to become a real-world hit. And when it’s written by Bruce Springsteen, as this one was, you almost expect it to be a success. Yet despite the fact that both Springsteen and Joan Jett, who stars in the film as a member of the fictional Barbusters, have made the tune a staple of their respective live concert sets, it still doesn’t get the kind of general attention paid to, say, “On the Dark Side” from that other ‘80s bar band movie, Eddie and the Cruisers. Why isn’t this played heavily on classic rock radio? And by “this” I of course mean the version featuring Michael J. Fox and, yes, Michael McKean (man, he loves the fictional bands). “It Don’t Worry Me” by Albuquerque, from Nashville This is just a solo singer (played by Barbara Harris) rather than a whole group, but she’s still fictional and the song was still written for the film. And it’s sung during what may be the best film ending of all time (hence its appropriate position at the end of the list). Somehow Keith Carradine won an Oscar for writing the most boring tune in this Robert Altman classic (“I’m Easy”), while this song, also written by Carradine, is clearly more enjoyable. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/6/16/31288.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 6/16/2008 5:01:14 PM
Body: The best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:01:14 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com6/16/2008 5:01:14 PMThe best time for a Get Smart movie would have been the late ’60s, when the original television series was still on the air. In fact, there was a theatrical Get Smart film in the works during the run of the show, but it was canceled when the theatrical release of Munster, Go Home! bombed at the box office. Many years later, in 1980, a Get Smart feature titled The Nude Bomb was released to theaters, but it also performed poorly. Now we’re getting a remake version starring Steve Carell in the role that was so iconically defined by the late Don Adams. Will it do the show justice? Reportedly the budget was $80 million, a significant amount of which was probably put towards pointless effects. But the best thing Warner Bros. could have done with that money is to give a large amount to series creators Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, who probably even today could churn out a better script than Failure to Launch scribes Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember. Despite its lack of original Get Smart talent, though, it could still be marginally funny. Yet the real problem is that it may be too outdated and obsolete for audiences to care. In the four decades since the show went off the air, there has been plenty of similar-themed movies, from spy spoofs to films with bumbling heroes. The following ten titles are the best evidence of why this new Get Smart movie is completely unnecessary: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery - It’s interesting that Get Smart is going up against a Mike Myers movie this weekend, because in a way it’s also going up against Myers’ Austin Powers movies, as well. Sure, spy parodies have been around in spades since around the time of the first James Bond movie, but nothing has been as popular as this series, which of course includes the much bigger-grossing sequels, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Inspector Gadget - The original animated series was based on Get Smart and even featured the voice of Don Adams. Also like Get Smart, it was remade into a feature film with a different cast. However, it did find room to employ both Adams (as the voice of the dog, Brain) and Andy Dick (who had played Maxwell Smart’s son in a 1990s Get Smart series). Regardless, it was still a failure, both in terms of its box office gross and the way it ruined our childhood memory of the beloved cartoon. Perhaps if the Get Smart movie is good enough, then it could make up for Inspector Gadget (and its sequel), but it would have to be really, really good. The Pink Panther - You might say that Get Smart came about as a response to both the Bond films and the original Pink Panther movies, which featured a bumbling police inspector instead of a bumbling spy. The recent remake of The Pink Panther already showed us that some characters should really be forever remembered by their most iconic portrayer. In this case Steve Martin was nothing compared to Peter Sellers, while in the case of Get Smart, Steve Carell is only muddying the memory of Don Adams. Even if he does a good job, he’s just not the real Maxwell Smart. He should just be in another lame generic spy spoof instead. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy - Want to see Steve Carell act clueless? Watch Anchorman again, because he can’t top his performance as Brick Tamland. “I love lamp.” The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! - The show Police Squad was in a way like Get Smart, only with a clueless detective rather than a clueless spy (I guess it could be seen as more like The Pink Panther then?). Fortunately that series only took a few years to spin-off a feature film, and thanks to the genius of Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Bros., who are almost equal in spoofing ability to Mel Brooks, it is funnier than any single episode or film of Get Smart can be without Brooks’ involvement. Spy Hard - Leslie Nielsen starred as the bumbling detective in the Naked Gun movies and then later played a bumbling spy in this spoof. The result: if Nielsen hadn’t already supplanted the Maxwell Smart character earlier, he did so here, even if really, really poorly. The Man Who Knew Too Little - More clueless spy stuff, this one an underrated movie starring Bill Murray. It actually made less money than The Nude Bomb (even without an inflation adjustment), but I enjoyed it a lot, probably more than I’ll enjoy Get Smart. Johnny English - Yep, I’m still just listing the other recent spy spoofs. But, really, there’s a point. When even Rowan Atkinson has done the bumbling spy bit, it’s time to hang up on the idea. I Spy - Did I already point out that #s 6-10 are more spy comedies? And there’s a lot that I’m not even including! This one is significant because it’s also based on a hit TV series. And it was a huge bomb. Spies Like Us - The thing I like best about the original Get Smart, as well as a number of the films on this list, is that the incompetent hero isn’t really aware of how incompetent he really is. The best movie to utilize this premise, though, has to be Spies Like Us. But that movie came out toward the end of the Cold War, when spy stuff was seeming ridiculously outdated. Comparatively, Get Smart arrives post 9/11, when the fact that American intelligence is incompetent is not so funny anymore. I think that now audiences would much prefer to see more serious spy films, like the Bond reboot Casino Royale (note the significance of this film being kind of a remake of a Bond parody) and the Bourne Identity franchise. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/love/MemberTagFilms.aspxlove
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