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My husband and I were spending a month in the Netherlands last summer when Goldmember premiered in the States.
“Have you heard about the new Austin Powers movie?” we often heard. “The villain is Dutch!” Since I am, too, that alone made me need to see this movie.
This third installment in the Austin Powers series, I discovered, was more like The Austin Powers Variety Show than an actual movie. There are flashback scenes and wacky musical numbers thrown in — as well as an endless supply of cameos by stars ranging from Britney Spears to the Osbournes. And, somewhere in the middle of all of the other stuff, the plot gets a bit lost.
The story follows as Dr. Evil (Mike Myers) once again plots to take over the planet. To do so, he enlists the help of Goldmember (also Myers), an infamous Dutch villain from the 70s. To keep agent Austin Powers (yep — Myers again) out of their way, they distract him by kidnapping his absentee father (not Myers — Michael Caine) and taking him back to the 70s. On his way to rescue his dad, Austin runs into Foxxy Cleopatra (Beyonce Knowles), a beautiful agent (and former flame) who joins him on the case.
First of all, I need to clear something up. I know a lot of people with very thick Dutch accents, and none of them sound anything like Goldmember. But who cares? He was funny anyway (and from him, I got my new favorite line: “I’m from Holland! Isn’t that weird?” Did I mention that I grew up in Holland, Michigan?)
As with any Austin Powers movie, the little random one-liners and sight gags are what makes the film so funny. Unfortunately, Goldmember just didn’t really do it for me. Sure, it was good for a few laughs — but not as many as I would have expected. Add to that the fact that the plot seemed totally unimportant to the movie, and you end up with a disappointing third installment in an otherwise entertaining franchise.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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