Film

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Name: Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
Genre: Comedy, Adventure, Crime
Released: 1999
Cast: Mike Myers, Heather Graham, Verne Troyer, Michael York, Robert Wagner

Parody
Light-hearted

A spy-comedy sequel that cranks the absurdity to eleven. Austin Powers must chase his nemesis Dr. Evil back to the 1960s to retrieve his stolen mojo, armed with terrible puns, a ridiculous accent, and the kind of lowbrow humour that somehow lands. Pure Saturday-morning-cartoon energy in live action.

TMDb rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you already love Mike Myers' sloppy, sex-mad, catchphrase-driven sketch comedy and don't mind a sequel that leans harder into its own gags, with a running joke every few minutes.

Skip it if you find the jokes repetitive or the innuendo juvenile, since this sequel doubles down on crude humour and rarely lets a bit go before it has been worn thin.

What it asks of you: Ninety-five minutes of nonstop sight gags and one-liners, delivered at a brisk clip, so you need to be willing to take the silliness at full volume and not wait for a plot to settle in.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Wayne's World 21993

Myers in his element, finding heart in comedy. Two lovable geeks and their cable-access show, built on genuine affection and spot-on pop-culture riffing that still feels fresh.

But It's a sketch stretched to feature length, and some stretches show. Broad doesn't mean stupid, but it sometimes tries too hard to prove it.

Tropic Thunder2008

The same instinct—comedy through exaggeration and fake-out sincerity. A Vietnam War film that gets progressively, hilariously unhinged as it dismantles Hollywood ego.

But The satire lands or it doesn't, depending on your patience for actors playing terrible actors. Some will find it smug.

The Pink Panther1963

Peter Sellers doing physical comedy at genius level, with a bumbling detective so committed to the bit you forget it's a bit. Timeless proof that silliness done well is elegant.

But It's quiet where Austin is loud. If you need constant jokes you'll find long stretches where nothing lands.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb1964

Both use exaggeration and a charismatic villain obsessed with world domination, but Strangelove weaponizes its comedy as social critique, while Austin Powers ignores consequences entirely—each approach reveals something about its era.

Kubrick's black-comedy masterpiece about nuclear war, with Peter Sellers playing three roles (including a brilliant, deranged Dr. Evil prototype). Satire that bites instead of tickles—same comic DNA, infinitely smarter.

But It's bleak. The jokes arrive in whispers, not punchlines. If you need the humour spelled out and upbeat, this will feel arch and cold.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb poster

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story2004

Absurdist comedy built on a simple premise, played with total commitment. Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller going to war over dodgeball, with a soundtrack of non-stop jokes.

But Humor this broad and rapid-fire exhausts some viewers. If you need breathing room between laughs, this won't give it to you.

Rush Hour1998

Action-comedy that understands chemistry matters. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker create genuine warmth beneath the quips and setpieces—and Chan's physical comedy rivals anyone.

But The humour is often at the expense of cultural difference. Some jokes have aged badly. The action sometimes gets in the way of the buddy stuff.

Johnny English2003

Rowan Atkinson's spy-comedy spoof, played with complete sincerity from a genuinely silly man. Physical comedy paired with deadpan obliviousness—a master class in commitment.

But The jokes are simple and predictable. If you need layers or subtext you're watching the wrong film.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!1988

Leslie Nielsen as a bumbling detective in a movie that fires a gag per five seconds. Absurdism done with precision—comedy that respects its own logic.

But The relentless pacing and sheer volume of jokes means some will whoosh past or land badly. It demands your attention.

The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! poster

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy2004

Will Ferrell as a news anchor frozen in 1970s alpha-male stupidity. Quotable, deliberately dumb, but built with real care for character and comedic timing.

But The humour trades on casual sexism and that can feel dated or just mean. Some improvisation goes nowhere.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy poster

Get Smart2008

Steve Carell as a bumbling spy-in-training in a spy-comedy that works because Carell genuinely cares. Affectionate to its source material while riffing on spy-movie conventions.

But The action sequences slow the comedy down. Some gags repeat. It lands softly when it should land hard.

Satantango1994

Both films reduce morality to a battle between larger-than-life archetypal forces, but where Austin makes good versus evil a playground, Sátántangó asks what happens when evil actually wins.

A seven-and-a-half-hour Hungarian film about a failed community spiralling into despair. Slow, hypnotic, morally strange—it shares Austin's structural obsession with good and evil, but strips away all comfort.

But It is extraordinarily long, mostly wordless, and visually bleak. Watching it feels like punishment. Austin fans will find zero jokes, zero pace, zero colour.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.2015

Both film in and love the 1960s spy aesthetic, but U.N.C.L.E. plays it straight and gorgeous while Austin demolishes it with fart jokes—opposite approaches to the same source material.

Guy Ritchie directs a 1960s spy adventure with Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. Stylish, witty, committed to pastiche—it takes the spy-spoof format seriously enough to make it elegant.

But The irony is so polished it becomes cold. The plot is a skeleton. If you want heart or stakes, the cool gets in the way.