For 5 or so years, Austin Powers dominated the world. Mike Myers’ hottest character made his debut in 1997’s Austin Powers: Worldwide Man of Thriller, a film that rapidly turned so fashionable it gave the world dozens of catchphrases, from “Oh, behave” to “Do I make you attractive, child?” Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me rapidly adopted in 1999, introducing the world to Myers’ offensive Fats Bastard character.
Then in 2002 got here Austin Powers in Goldmember, the third and closing set up within the satirical spy collection. The movie’s plot revolves round the concept Powers travels to 1975 to defeat evil villain Goldmember, a personality that Myers himself performs. Goldmember has teamed up with Dr. Evil (once more, Myers) to take over the world. Hijinks ensue, in addition to a while journey to the current day and the introduction of Beyonce’s Foxxy Cleopatra as yet one more love curiosity who’s clearly out of Powers’ league.
The entire thing kicks off with a form of meta movie-within-a-movie second that includes cameos from Tom Cruise (who performs Powers in Austinpussy), Steven Spielberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Travolta, Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey. Britney Spears additionally has a cameo within the movie, reportedly as a result of she cherished the primary two a lot. She performs a fembot, additionally reportedly certainly one of her requests.
Watch Tom Cruise in ‘Austin Powers: Goldmember’
It’s laborious to describe the plot of Goldmember as a result of the film is much less of a narrative than it’s a assortment of comedic bits loosely strung collectively. In some methods, that’s Myers’ fashion — one may argue that even Wayne’s World has bit-heavy segments — however Goldmember took it to the intense. This can be a film, in spite of everything, that included Katie Couric as a unibrow-sporting jail guard, splashed in a little bit of Osbournes-era Ozzy messing round along with his distant and in some way managed to work a jail rap that includes Dr. Evil and Mini Me (Verne Troyer) into the plot. It’s loads, to say the least.
Watch the ‘Welcome to 1975’ Scene in ‘Austin Powers: Goldmember’
Maybe essentially the most refreshing and fascinating a part of Goldmember is Beyonce, who was simply 19 when she was forged within the film. (She celebrated her twentieth birthday on set.) Up till then, she was finest often called the frontwoman for Future’s Little one, however Beyonce fastidiously crafted her entrance into a solo profession, thanks partly to her position on this film, even releasing her first solo monitor, “Work It Out,” on the film’s soundtrack.
As Vulture revealed in an oral historical past of Beyonce’s curiosity in Goldmember, the singer auditioned solely twice for the position, drawing from her mom’s love of actresses like Pam Grier to craft her character, Foxxy Cleopatra. Aisha Tyler (The Soup, Felony Minds), was reportedly the one different actress Myers and director Jay Roach thought-about for the position.
Watch the Music Video for Beyonce’s ‘Work It Out’
It’s value noting that Michael Caine additionally seems in Goldmember, taking part in Powers’ dauntless father, Nigel Powers. Provided that the franchise is so influenced by the actor’s work in movies like Alfie and The Ipcress File, Caine’s casting seems like Powers’ pure conclusion.
Regardless that director Roach has stated he’d be up for making a fourth Powers movie, it does really feel like Goldmember may very well be a great place to wrap up the characters’ convoluted saga. In Goldmember, we be taught that Austin and his nemesis Dr. Evil are brothers, a wrinkle so harebrained that it may make the story go even additional afield if Myers and firm ever resolve to revive it.
Goldmember isn’t precisely a film that ranks as a basic, however Myers’ work as Powers right here does have its followers, as evidenced by the film’s immense field workplace success. One, notably, was George Harrison, who wrote Myers a letter praising him for his work. Myers acquired the letter on set the day he and Roach have been taking pictures the Austinpussy farce. That was additionally the day Harrison died, and although Myers had by no means met Harrison, he has stated that he “cried like a child” when he received the letter, which he’s framed and positioned in his residence.
