list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Austin Powers in Goldmember 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_in_Goldmember/208155/default.aspx Title: Austin Powers in Goldmember
Year: 2002
Director: Jay Roach
Plot: Mike Myers' phenomenally successful spy spoof gains a few more characters, a slew of celebrity cameos, and even more free-associative laughs in this third installment of the popular franchise. Austin Powers in Goldmember continues the exploits of the swinging-'60s leftover, who, as the film opens, is busy critiquing a big-budget Hollywood production of his life story, replete with a 20-million-dollar star in the lead role and a slew of John Woo-style action scenes. But not far from the soundstage lurks arch nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers), who has opened up a talent agency representing some of the industry's biggest stars -- all the while channeling their profits into a diabolical world-destruction plan with the unfortunate code name Preparation H. Dr. Evil presents a distraction to Austin by kidnapping his similarly swingin' father, Nigel Powers, and transporting him back in time to 1975. Travelling there to save his father -- and in turn win back his dad's sometimes-errant affection -- Austin comes across the alluring superspy Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles). The three of them travel back to the present day, where they join forces to battle Dr. Evil and his posse of nefarious evil-doers, including the trusty clone Mini-Me (Verne Troyer); his snotty son, Scott (Seth Green); the inimitable Fat Bastard (Myers); and the eponymous new addition to the fold: the epidermis-obsessed, precious-metal-fortified Dutchman called Goldmember (Myers). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
Times Tagged: 25
Number of Lists: 45
Number of blog posts: 7
Number of discussion threads: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:57:47 GMTAustin Powers in Goldmember2002Jay Roach<a href="/players/P____51621/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Mike Myers</a>' phenomenally successful spy spoof gains a few more characters, a slew of celebrity cameos, and even more free-associative laughs in this third installment of the popular franchise. Austin Powers in Goldmember continues the exploits of the swinging-'60s leftover, who, as the film opens, is busy critiquing a big-budget Hollywood production of his life story, replete with a 20-million-dollar star in the lead role and a slew of <a href="/players/P___117248/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>John Woo</a>-style action scenes. But not far from the soundstage lurks arch nemesis Dr. Evil (Myers), who has opened up a talent agency representing some of the industry's biggest stars -- all the while channeling their profits into a diabolical world-destruction plan with the unfortunate code name Preparation H. Dr. Evil presents a distraction to Austin by kidnapping his similarly swingin' father, Nigel Powers, and transporting him back in time to 1975. Travelling there to save his father -- and in turn win back his dad's sometimes-errant affection -- Austin comes across the alluring superspy Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles). The three of them travel back to the present day, where they join forces to battle Dr. Evil and his posse of nefarious evil-doers, including the trusty clone Mini-Me (<a href="/players/P___271546/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Verne Troyer</a>); his snotty son, Scott (<a href="/players/P____28493/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Seth Green</a>); the inimitable Fat Bastard (Myers); and the eponymous new addition to the fold: the epidermis-obsessed, precious-metal-fortified Dutchman called Goldmember (Myers). ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide25Tag Target (>10)45713http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/t25551f8pt7.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Austin_Powers_in_Goldmember/208155/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/spoutblog/archive/2008/12/3/37896.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 12/3/2008 3:00:52 PM
Body: It’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders. As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations. 10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments. 9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008) Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month. 8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003) Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award. 7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998) Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen. 6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000) Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race. 5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995) The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures. 4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004) It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination. 3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982) A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in. 2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006) Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around. 1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983) Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:00:52 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com12/3/2008 3:00:52 PMIt’s more difficult to be convincing as a real person when acting on film than on the stage. The camera can get closer and your image ends up projected many times larger than life size. So, despite giving a Tony Award-winning performance as Richard Nixon in the theater version of Frost/Nixon, Frank Langella was not initially thought of as worthy to reprise the role in Ron Howard’s movie adaptation of the play. Part of it was that he’s not a big name, but another reason was that he looks nothing like Tricky Dick. Ultimately, Langella did get the part, and while he doesn’t resemble the former president, he apparently does a bang up job in the role. But the transition could easily have been as awkward as Ralph Bellamy’s reprisal of his Tony-winning portrayal of Franklin Roosevelt in Sunrise at Campobello. In the film version of that play, Bellamy’s vocal impersonation comes off more like a Scottish brogue (he sounds exactly like Sean Connery, in fact) than FDR’s signature “Locust Valley lockjaw.”  Instead, Langella is on track for an Oscar nomination, and is sure to join the following actors who also gave convincing performances as world leaders. As a handicap, SpoutBlog has limited the selections to modern era leaders whose real persona exists on film/tape and are therefore more easily comparable to actors’ representations. 10. Anthony Hopkins as President Richard Nixon in Nixon (1995) The performance is exaggerated almost to the point of out-doing Dan Hedaya’s comedic portrayal in Dick, but Hopkins’ Nixon isn’t the failure that many reviews criticized it as. The art of a convincing portrait is not so much about presenting an exact likeness as it is about expressing a perspective, and Oliver Stone’s employment of Hannibal Lecter as the (then) most hated president brought the viewpoint across right away. It may not be Hopkins’ best Oscar-nominated presidential performance (that would be his John Quincy Adams in Amistad), but it is one of his most spectacular accomplishments. 9. Josh Brolin as President George W. Bush in W. (2008) Stone surprisingly went a different way with his latest presidential biopic (which was not, as has been claimed, the first film about a sitting president; see #6). Brolin is much less a caricature than was expected, and the actor even welcomes sympathy from Bush-haters. It’s not necessarily an exact impersonation; it’s better. Brolin makes the role his own while also doing some requisite aping, and it’s a performance that should garner him an Oscar nomination next month. 8. James Brolin as President Ronald Reagan in The Reagans (2003) Like son, like father, though instead of appropriately portraying the elder Bush (he might have done as well as James Cromwell in W.), Josh Brolin’s father plays that president’s predecessor in this made-for-TV biopic. He looks a little silly in the role, but James Brolin does an excellent job with the voice and the overall execution of the actor-turned-leader’s public persona. The conservatives may have hated the movie, but the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences were convinced enough to nominate Brolin for an Emmy Award. 7. Jerry Haleva as Saddam Hussein in The Big Lebowski (1998) Sometimes professional impersonators are the most perfect people to play figures on the big screen. Unfortunately, people like Queen Elizabeth look-alike Jeannette Charles (The Naked Gun; European Vacation, Austin Powers in Goldmember) aren’t famous enough or talented enough actors to carry a whole film like The Queen. The late Haleva made a career out of portraying the Iraqi dictator, appearing prominently in such comedies as Hot Shots!, Hot Shots! Part Deux and Jane Austen’s Mafia! But it’s his silent performance in The Big Lebowski that works best (though his lisped Hussein in the Hot Shots! sequel is hilarious). Even Hussein’s own sons could have made the mistake of thinking it was the real dictator up there on the screen. 6. Bruce Greenwood as President John F. Kennedy in Thirteen Days (2000) Back in the 1960s, President Kennedy got to be part of the casting process for Warner Bros.’ depiction of him in the WWII drama PT 109. His selection of Cliff Robertson was fine, but if he’d been alive long enough to also assist the production of Thirteen Days, he would have surely agreed with the casting of Bruce Greenwood. The actor doesn’t look much like JFK in this non-biopic about the Cuban Missile Crisis, but to agree with Kevin Costner, Greenwood is Kennedy in the film, only bettered by Steven Culp as RFK. Too bad Costner has to be in there at all. As usual his talent for accents is atrocious, but at least he didn’t bother attempting to play the president. Greenwood was definitely deserving of an Oscar nod for his portrayal, but apparently only one presidential role (Jeff Bridges in The Contender) was enough for the 2001 Supporting Actor race. 5. Gary Sinise as President Harry S. Truman in Truman (1995) The problem with famous actors portraying well-known real-life figures is that the audience more than likely sees the actor first. It’s a problem with most of the portrayals on this list, and it’s certainly true for Gary Sinise in the role of Truman. He looks just like Gary Sinise with some necessary prosthetics. And his voice is distinctly his own, too, despite an attempt at the accent. Yet the performance is engaging enough to make the viewer forget all that and become adequately convinced enough to accept Sinise as the president with the difficult task of ending World War II through drastic measures. 4. Bruno Ganz as Adolph Hitler in Downfall (2004) It’s easy to play Hitler; just don the signature mustache and you’re good to go. Ganz went above and beyond, though, to not just convincingly represent the Nazi dictator but also to capture his thought-non-existent humanity. His voice is perfection and his overall performance is astounding. Had the three-dimensionality of the portrayal not been so controversial, Ganz could have garnered an Academy Award nomination. 3. Edward Hermann as President Franklin Roosevelt in Annie (1982) A lot of actors have attempted FDR, from Bellamy in Sunrise at Campobello to Kenneth Branagh in Warm Springs (and let’s not forget Jon Voight’s laughable turn in Pearl Harbor), but nobody else is as good as Hermann, who played the four-term president in two TV movies prior to reprising the role in this screen version of the lovable Broadway musical. The only reason he deserves more credit here than for his two Emmy-nominated portrayals is because in Annie he joins in to sing “Tomorrow” with the li’l titular orphan, and that’s believably something the real FDR would have taken much pleasure in. 2. Michael Sheen as Prime Minister Tony Blair in The Queen (2006) Langella and his Frost/Nixon costar, Michael Sheen, are equally being recognized for their performances in that film. But a couple of years ago, Sheen was upstaged by the Oscar-winning Helen Mirren in The Queen. Still, despite his lack of a deserved nod from the Academy, he was highly acclaimed for his portrayal of Tony Blair, a role he’d already perfected in the British TV movie The Deal (from the same writer-director pair as The Queen). And the performance rushed him to the top ranks of acting talent, allowing him to be unquestionably worthy of reprising his stage role as David Frost and easily thought of as a front-runner for the Oscars this time around. 1. Martin Sheen as President John F. Kennedy in Kennedy (1983) Sheen was so good as JFK in this TV miniseries that in The Goonies “Mouth” (Corey Feldman) confuses the president for the actor on a 50-cent piece. And well, Mouth, as Cyndi Lauper sings on the soundtrack, “What’s good enough for you is good enough for me. It’s good enough. It’s good enough for me. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.” Originally posted on:SpoutBlog http://www.spout.com/blogs/joem18b/archive/2008/11/23/37569.aspx Post By: joem18b
Post To: joem18b Blog
Post Date: 11/23/2008 10:04:39 PM
Body: I was jogging the other day, listening to Filmcouch #97, and the boys on the program asked whether there are any movies being made in the old spy genre anymore. Pure spy movies, as I think they put it. Or are we now left with, through evolutionary Hollywood transmogrification, only action spies (Bourne), humorous spoofy spies (Powers), and a few self-referential takes on the old genre, viz., The Constant Gardener.So for a few blocks I mentally recapitulated the efflorescence of the spy genre in the Sixties, as I remember it. Fleming, who started it all when JFK told an interviewer that he read the Bond books before bed at night, Len Deighton (Michael Caine as Quiller), the Flint movies. Richard Burton in the first La Carre effort.Then I spent a couple of blocks coming up with the following list:Spy Kids (2001, 2002)Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)The Tailor of Panama (2001)Spy Game (2001)Breach (2007)Later I did a power search of 2000-2008 in IMDB for "spy" and "spies." Didn't see much.My conclusion: There was a period, beginning with Dr. No and ending, perhaps, with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), when a true (Bond-inspired) spy genre existed. Since then, from time to time, a movie involving spies appears, but only conforming to the conventions of the old genre, if at all, by accident. This is similar to comparing Hollywood genre romantic comedies (which conform to a strict set of rules) to French romantic comedies (which don't).
]]>Mon, 24 Nov 2008 03:04:39 GMTjoem18bjoem18b Blog11/23/2008 10:04:39 PMI was jogging the other day, listening to Filmcouch #97, and the boys on the program asked whether there are any movies being made in the old spy genre anymore. Pure spy movies, as I think they put it. Or are we now left with, through evolutionary Hollywood transmogrification, only action spies (Bourne), humorous spoofy spies (Powers), and a few self-referential takes on the old genre, viz., The Constant Gardener.So for a few blocks I mentally recapitulated the efflorescence of the spy genre in the Sixties, as I remember it. Fleming, who started it all when JFK told an interviewer that he read the Bond books before bed at night, Len Deighton (Michael Caine as Quiller), the Flint movies. Richard Burton in the first La Carre effort.Then I spent a couple of blocks coming up with the following list:Spy Kids (2001, 2002)Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)The Tailor of Panama (2001)Spy Game (2001)Breach (2007)Later I did a power search of 2000-2008 in IMDB for "spy" and "spies." Didn't see much.My conclusion: There was a period, beginning with Dr. No and ending, perhaps, with Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, (1979) and Smiley's People (1982), when a true (Bond-inspired) spy genre existed. Since then, from time to time, a movie involving spies appears, but only conforming to the conventions of the old genre, if at all, by accident. This is similar to comparing Hollywood genre romantic comedies (which conform to a strict set of rules) to French romantic comedies (which don't). 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/2008/8/7/33699.aspx Post By: SpoutBlog
Post To: SpoutBlog on spout.com
Post Date: 8/7/2008 2:00:31 PM
Body: We’re less than a week away from the release of Tropic Thunder, and as the reviews and puff pieces make their way onto the web, there’s one thing clearly uniting the media’s coverage: talk of Tom Cruise’s appearance in a small role as a Hollywood studio boss. Everyone seems to agree that he steals the show and that his performance — or the joke surrounding it — is one of the comedy’s major highlights, if not the actual best part. Of course, we can expect a good cameo from Cruise every now and then. He showed up for a bit part in Young Guns and played himself as playing “Austin Powers” in Austin Powers in Goldmember. But from what it sounds like, his role in Tropic Thunder is featured for longer than might qualify as a cameo. Some are regardless referring to the performance as an “extended cameo”, and in theory it certainly fits in with the huge crop of so-called “ironic cameos” that have become popular in movies and TV in the last ten years. Still, despite my not having yet seen the movie, I’m thinking that Tom Cruise’s involvement in Tropic Thunder is more like the following list, which consists of merely small roles filled by big stars. You might consider some of them to be technically cameos, especially the ones that aren’t integral to the plot and/or call attention to themselves. But with each of the roles I’ve included, I consider them to be either the best part of their respective movies or at least a major highlight, which is how Cruise’s appearance is being touted. Anyway, forgive me for trying to come up with something different than simply a best cameo list, even if the focus here seems less than clear. 10. Marlon Brando as “Jor-El” in Superman - He was probably paid too much for the part, especially if all the trivia surrounding his involvement (reading his lines off baby Superman’s diaper; desiring that only his voice be used; demanding to be paid double if any footage was to be used in the sequel) is true, but it’s pretty cool having Brando appear at the beginning of what I still consider to be the best superhero comic book adaptation of all time (sorry Dark Knight fans). He’s not the best thing about the movie, but he’s an immediate highlight. As for his payment (reportedly $3.7 million), Warner Bros. has leveled out his worth a little by featuring him in the Donner cut of Superman II and in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns — a movie that also creatively employs Brando’s On the Waterfront costar Eva Marie Saint appropriately as Superman’s adopted mother. 9. Drew Barrymore as “Casey Becker” in Scream - Having your biggest star killed in the opening scene is kinda like having your best action sequence at the head of the movie (a la Bad Boys II), but fortunately the rest of the first Scream is pretty good, and Barrymore’s (don’t call it a cameo) part doesn’t overshadow the movie too much. In a way, since this wasn’t a sequel yet the movie was a bit of a parody of all slasher movies, the familiarity of Becker’s face could be taken to be akin to how, often, horror sequels begin by killing off the heroine of the previous installment in the first few minutes. 8. Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Prince Hapi” in Around the World in 80 Days - There isn’t much to enjoy about Frank Coraci’s 2004 version of the Jules Verne tale, especially since there appears to be a lot of missed opportunities in terms of guest appearances (Wikipedia counts 45 “cameos” in the 1956 version; I count maybe 10 that could be considered “cameos” in the newer movie). Therefore, Schwarzenegger’s hilarious appearance as a lecherous Turkish prince — one of his last roles filmed before becoming Governor of California — is one of the few highlights, if not the sole highlight (personally, I enjoy Jackie Chan in anything, and I liked more of this movie than most people did). The role is especially funny and creepy if you’ve ever seen that old footage of Schwarzenegger being sleazy at Carnival in Rio. 7. Orson Welles as “Unicron” in Transformers: The Movie - Welles’ voice had been overpowering in films before — he had a good side career going throughout his life as a narrator — but considering this was ridiculously his final performance and considering he easily overshadowed his fellow celebrity voice lenders (including otherwise commanding vocal talents Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Casey Kasem), his part completely dominates the movie, both diegetically and extradiegetically. 6. Bruce Willis as “Harry Rydell” in Fast Food Nation - Far and away the only good part of Richard Linklater’s botched attempt to dramatize Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction classic (I consider the book a kind of bible since it inspired me to give up fast food and subsequently lose 60lbs., so it pains me even more to think about Schlosser being a co-writer and producer of the movie), and not just because of his oft-quoted line about how we all have to eat a little shit from time to time. His whole characterization of the cynical meat supplier is brilliant, enough that he unfortunately makes the rest of the movie play even less interesting that it already is. 5. Charlie Sheen as “Charlie” in Being John Malkovich - I wanted to stay away from roles in which actors play themselves, mainly because that’s a big percentage of the ironic cameo stuff that’s so overused these days. However, Sheen’s part here is a little more than a mere cameo. And it’s kind of an ironic parody of the ironic cameo, even as it predates a lot of these cameos in Entourage and Extras and the like (by crediting the role as “Charlie” rather than “as himself”, it’s also a precursor to the more exaggerated than exaggerated “Neil Patrick Harris” character of the Harold and Kumar films). Perhaps intended to redirect the audience’s perspective on John Malkovich’s titular character, which is up until Sheen’s entrance possibly accepted as an authentic self-portrayal, the overstatement of the role raises the already ingeniously funny film up another notch to put it at the level of best comedies ever made. 4. Matt Damon as “Donny” in Eurotrip - I’ve actually never seen Eurotrip, but I hear there’s no reason to watch it other than to see Damon’s bit role as the singer of a pop punk band (the otherwise real Lustra). And I’ve seen that on YouTube, so I’m good. Even more than Cruise and some of the others, Damon seems to love doing guest stints in movies and on TV (he’s also given us the only reasons to ever watch Jimmy Kimmel). Some of his other small roles and cameos can be found in Youth Without Youth, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Finding Forrester, Jersey Girl and The Majestic (the last in voice only). 3. Sean Connery as “King Richard” in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - After making us suffer through Kevin Costner’s terrible performance in the lead role, the producers of this disappointing version of the classic legend actually rub it in how bad their casting choice was by sneaking Connery in at the last minute. Of course, despite the way his appearance increases our dissatisfaction with the rest of the movie, he’s still the highlight. Especially since he’s immediately followed by that awful Bryan Adams song playing over the credits. 2. Alec Baldwin as “Blake” in Glengarry Glen Ross - Sure, the rest of the film is really good, mostly because of the stellar cast filling out the rest of the ensemble, but the first thing you remember about this David Mamet adaptation is Baldwin’s monologue. It’s good enough that I almost also included on this list the Blake-inspired character from Boiler Room as played by Ben Affleck. But it’s also too good to actually accept Affleck’s ripoff as being in the same league. 1. Gene Hackman as “Blindman” in Young Frankenstein - I’m in the minority as far as my appreciation of Mel Brooks’ parody of James Whale’s Frankenstein films. I think it’s really funny, but I don’t think it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Yet the few minutes that Hackman is on screen always leave me in tears, enough that I wholeheartedly accept the movie’s status as one of the greatest comedies ever made. Originally posted on:SpoutBlog
]]>Thu, 07 Aug 2008 18:00:31 GMTSpoutBlogSpoutBlog on spout.com8/7/2008 2:00:31 PMWe’re less than a week away from the release of Tropic Thunder, and as the reviews and puff pieces make their way onto the web, there’s one thing clearly uniting the media’s coverage: talk of Tom Cruise’s appearance in a small role as a Hollywood studio boss. Everyone seems to agree that he steals the show and that his performance — or the joke surrounding it — is one of the comedy’s major highlights, if not the actual best part. Of course, we can expect a good cameo from Cruise every now and then. He showed up for a bit part in Young Guns and played himself as playing “Austin Powers” in Austin Powers in Goldmember. But from what it sounds like, his role in Tropic Thunder is featured for longer than might qualify as a cameo. Some are regardless referring to the performance as an “extended cameo”, and in theory it certainly fits in with the huge crop of so-called “ironic cameos” that have become popular in movies and TV in the last ten years. Still, despite my not having yet seen the movie, I’m thinking that Tom Cruise’s involvement in Tropic Thunder is more like the following list, which consists of merely small roles filled by big stars. You might consider some of them to be technically cameos, especially the ones that aren’t integral to the plot and/or call attention to themselves. But with each of the roles I’ve included, I consider them to be either the best part of their respective movies or at least a major highlight, which is how Cruise’s appearance is being touted. Anyway, forgive me for trying to come up with something different than simply a best cameo list, even if the focus here seems less than clear. 10. Marlon Brando as “Jor-El” in Superman - He was probably paid too much for the part, especially if all the trivia surrounding his involvement (reading his lines off baby Superman’s diaper; desiring that only his voice be used; demanding to be paid double if any footage was to be used in the sequel) is true, but it’s pretty cool having Brando appear at the beginning of what I still consider to be the best superhero comic book adaptation of all time (sorry Dark Knight fans). He’s not the best thing about the movie, but he’s an immediate highlight. As for his payment (reportedly $3.7 million), Warner Bros. has leveled out his worth a little by featuring him in the Donner cut of Superman II and in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns — a movie that also creatively employs Brando’s On the Waterfront costar Eva Marie Saint appropriately as Superman’s adopted mother. 9. Drew Barrymore as “Casey Becker” in Scream - Having your biggest star killed in the opening scene is kinda like having your best action sequence at the head of the movie (a la Bad Boys II), but fortunately the rest of the first Scream is pretty good, and Barrymore’s (don’t call it a cameo) part doesn’t overshadow the movie too much. In a way, since this wasn’t a sequel yet the movie was a bit of a parody of all slasher movies, the familiarity of Becker’s face could be taken to be akin to how, often, horror sequels begin by killing off the heroine of the previous installment in the first few minutes. 8. Arnold Schwarzenegger as “Prince Hapi” in Around the World in 80 Days - There isn’t much to enjoy about Frank Coraci’s 2004 version of the Jules Verne tale, especially since there appears to be a lot of missed opportunities in terms of guest appearances (Wikipedia counts 45 “cameos” in the 1956 version; I count maybe 10 that could be considered “cameos” in the newer movie). Therefore, Schwarzenegger’s hilarious appearance as a lecherous Turkish prince — one of his last roles filmed before becoming Governor of California — is one of the few highlights, if not the sole highlight (personally, I enjoy Jackie Chan in anything, and I liked more of this movie than most people did). The role is especially funny and creepy if you’ve ever seen that old footage of Schwarzenegger being sleazy at Carnival in Rio. 7. Orson Welles as “Unicron” in Transformers: The Movie - Welles’ voice had been overpowering in films before — he had a good side career going throughout his life as a narrator — but considering this was ridiculously his final performance and considering he easily overshadowed his fellow celebrity voice lenders (including otherwise commanding vocal talents Leonard Nimoy, Robert Stack and Casey Kasem), his part completely dominates the movie, both diegetically and extradiegetically. 6. Bruce Willis as “Harry Rydell” in Fast Food Nation - Far and away the only good part of Richard Linklater’s botched attempt to dramatize Eric Schlosser’s non-fiction classic (I consider the book a kind of bible since it inspired me to give up fast food and subsequently lose 60lbs., so it pains me even more to think about Schlosser being a co-writer and producer of the movie), and not just because of his oft-quoted line about how we all have to eat a little shit from time to time. His whole characterization of the cynical meat supplier is brilliant, enough that he unfortunately makes the rest of the movie play even less interesting that it already is. 5. Charlie Sheen as “Charlie” in Being John Malkovich - I wanted to stay away from roles in which actors play themselves, mainly because that’s a big percentage of the ironic cameo stuff that’s so overused these days. However, Sheen’s part here is a little more than a mere cameo. And it’s kind of an ironic parody of the ironic cameo, even as it predates a lot of these cameos in Entourage and Extras and the like (by crediting the role as “Charlie” rather than “as himself”, it’s also a precursor to the more exaggerated than exaggerated “Neil Patrick Harris” character of the Harold and Kumar films). Perhaps intended to redirect the audience’s perspective on John Malkovich’s titular character, which is up until Sheen’s entrance possibly accepted as an authentic self-portrayal, the overstatement of the role raises the already ingeniously funny film up another notch to put it at the level of best comedies ever made. 4. Matt Damon as “Donny” in Eurotrip - I’ve actually never seen Eurotrip, but I hear there’s no reason to watch it other than to see Damon’s bit role as the singer of a pop punk band (the otherwise real Lustra). And I’ve seen that on YouTube, so I’m good. Even more than Cruise and some of the others, Damon seems to love doing guest stints in movies and on TV (he’s also given us the only reasons to ever watch Jimmy Kimmel). Some of his other small roles and cameos can be found in Youth Without Youth, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Finding Forrester, Jersey Girl and The Majestic (the last in voice only). 3. Sean Connery as “King Richard” in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves - After making us suffer through Kevin Costner’s terrible performance in the lead role, the producers of this disappointing version of the classic legend actually rub it in how bad their casting choice was by sneaking Connery in at the last minute. Of course, despite the way his appearance increases our dissatisfaction with the rest of the movie, he’s still the highlight. Especially since he’s immediately followed by that awful Bryan Adams song playing over the credits. 2. Alec Baldwin as “Blake” in Glengarry Glen Ross - Sure, the rest of the film is really good, mostly because of the stellar cast filling out the rest of the ensemble, but the first thing you remember about this David Mamet adaptation is Baldwin’s monologue. It’s good enough that I almost also included on this list the Blake-inspired character from Boiler Room as played by Ben Affleck. But it’s also too good to actually accept Affleck’s ripoff as being in the same league. 1. Gene Hackman as “Blindman” in Young Frankenstein - I’m in the minority as far as my appreciation of Mel Brooks’ parody of James Whale’s Frankenstein films. I think it’s really funny, but I don’t think it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. Yet the few minutes that Hackman is on screen always leave me in tears, enough that I wholeheartedly accept the movie’s status as one of the greatest comedies ever made. 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/groups/The_Casting_Futon/Re_Dreaded_Sequels/305/9190/1/ShowPost.aspx Post By: josephkuzma
Post To: The Casting Futon
Post Date: 5/22/2007 8:25:30 PM
Body: I (almost) completely agree.1. F**k Bond. Nothing after Roger Moore even remotely matters. Prequel it all you want, it won't make it good.2. How old is Harrison Ford now? And Lucas and Spielberg have screwed up plenty (Howard the Duck & 1941, respectively) , so there are no guarantees. 3. I feel like the third AP filled in all the laugh gaps of the others. These will more than likely be the same jokes over and over. At least this means Verne Troyer will have a job for the next decade... or until his liver gives out, whichever comes first.4. I knew this was coming. Especially with 3 being such a behemoth right out of the gate. Between this and #3 on the list we're apparently going to be inundated with Mike Myers for the next 8 - 12 years.5. Terminator 3 was terrible. I agree with you here, unless it's all about La Resistance this will be wretched.6. My feeling about this are well-documented.7. Call me a mindless zombie but you attach the word Star Wars to anything and I'll at least give it a chance. There is a screaming 9 year-old somewhere deep in my pysche that's holding out hope for mild redemption (he's also the part of me that's excited about the telelvision series).Other than that, kudos on the rant.
]]>Wed, 23 May 2007 00:25:30 GMTjosephkuzmaThe Casting Futon5/22/2007 8:25:30 PMI (almost) completely agree.1. F**k Bond. Nothing after Roger Moore even remotely matters. Prequel it all you want, it won&#39;t make it good.2. How old is Harrison Ford now? And Lucas and Spielberg have screwed up plenty (Howard the Duck &amp; 1941, respectively) , so there are no guarantees. 3. I feel like the third AP filled in all the laugh gaps of the others. These will more than likely be the same jokes over and over. At least this means Verne Troyer will have a job for the next decade... or until his liver gives out, whichever comes first.4. I knew this was coming. Especially with 3 being such a behemoth right out of the gate. Between this and #3 on the list we&#39;re apparently going to be inundated with Mike Myers for the next 8 - 12 years.5. Terminator 3 was terrible. I agree with you here, unless it&#39;s all about La Resistance this will be wretched.6. My feeling about this are well-documented.7. Call me a mindless zombie but you attach the word Star Wars to anything and I&#39;ll at least give it a chance. There is a screaming 9 year-old somewhere deep in my pysche that&#39;s holding out hope for mild redemption (he&#39;s also the part of me that&#39;s excited about the telelvision series).Other than that, kudos on the rant. http://www.spout.com/blogs/moviebabe/archive/2007/3/9/6241.aspx Post By: MovieBabe
Post To: MovieBabe Blog
Post Date: 3/9/2007 9:05:00 PM
Body: Let's be frank: Mike Myers' newest character, Goldmember, exists solely to provide the third Austin Powers installment with a source of penis jokes. There's nothing else that's particularly funny about this newest Austin Powers foil, an allegedly Dutch roller-disco king with a hard-on for (and of) gold, but don't worry. Fat Bastard is back and as disgusting as ever (though a bit funnier this time), along with Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), Number Two (Robert Wagner), and, of course, Mini-Me (Verne Troyer). Austin Powers in Goldmember also offers Japanese twins Fook Yu and Fook Mi, Steven Spielberg performing handsprings, and lines such as "You mean I actually have frickin' sharks with frickin' lasers attached to their frickin' heads?" For Myers, God bless him, no joke's too cheap, even if it's naming a character Mr. Roboto just so Austin (Myers also) can quote some Styx lyrics. Goldmember starts with a hyperproduced bang, throwing megastar cameos and lavish musical numbers at you before lapsing into the miniplot, something about the guy with the golden wang being bad, Austin having daddy issues, and the significance of Scott Evil's (Seth Green) hair falling out. Destiny's Child Beyonce Knowles smiles in all the right places as retro love interest Foxxy Cleopatra, but in this episode, Austin is focused not so much on getting shagged as on working on his relationship with his father (a suitably swinging Michael Caine, uttering nonsensical lines such as "I thought I smelled cabbage" with Oscar-worthy silliness). The movie can't help but falter a bit after its balls-to-the-wall start, though with its torrent of sight gags, puns, and innuendo, no one in the popcorn nation will likely notice. To paraphrase Austin after he blows fembot Britney's head off: Oops, he did it again, baby, yeah!
]]>Sat, 10 Mar 2007 02:05:00 GMTMovieBabeMovieBabe Blog3/9/2007 9:05:00 PMLet&#39;s be frank: Mike Myers&#39; newest character, Goldmember, exists solely to provide the third Austin Powers installment with a source of penis jokes. There&#39;s nothing else that&#39;s particularly funny about this newest Austin Powers foil, an allegedly Dutch roller-disco king with a hard-on for (and of) gold, but don&#39;t worry. Fat Bastard is back and as disgusting as ever (though a bit funnier this time), along with Frau Farbissina (Mindy Sterling), Number Two (Robert Wagner), and, of course, Mini-Me (Verne Troyer). Austin Powers in Goldmember also offers Japanese twins Fook Yu and Fook Mi, Steven Spielberg performing handsprings, and lines such as "You mean I actually have frickin&#39; sharks with frickin&#39; lasers attached to their frickin&#39; heads?" For Myers, God bless him, no joke&#39;s too cheap, even if it&#39;s naming a character Mr. Roboto just so Austin (Myers also) can quote some Styx lyrics. Goldmember starts with a hyperproduced bang, throwing megastar cameos and lavish musical numbers at you before lapsing into the miniplot, something about the guy with the golden wang being bad, Austin having daddy issues, and the significance of Scott Evil&#39;s (Seth Green) hair falling out. Destiny&#39;s Child Beyonce Knowles smiles in all the right places as retro love interest Foxxy Cleopatra, but in this episode, Austin is focused not so much on getting shagged as on working on his relationship with his father (a suitably swinging Michael Caine, uttering nonsensical lines such as "I thought I smelled cabbage" with Oscar-worthy silliness). The movie can&#39;t help but falter a bit after its balls-to-the-wall start, though with its torrent of sight gags, puns, and innuendo, no one in the popcorn nation will likely notice. To paraphrase Austin after he blows fembot Britney&#39;s head off: Oops, he did it again, baby, yeah! http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/Guilty-Pleasure/MemberTagFilms.aspxGuilty-Pleasure
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