Austin Powers in Goldmember

Austin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film directed by Jay Roach. It is the third and final installment in the Austin Powers film series and stars Mike Myers in four different roles: Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Goldmember, and Fat Bastard. Myers and Michael McCullers co-wrote the screenplay, which also features Beyoncé Knowles in her theatrical film debut, as well as Seth Green, Michael York, Robert Wagner, Mindy Sterling, Verne Troyer, and Michael Caine.

Austin Powers in Goldmember
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJay Roach
Written by
Based onCharacters
by Mike Myers
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyPeter Deming
Edited by
Music byGeorge S. Clinton
Production
companies
New Line Cinema
Gratitude International
Team Todd
Moving Pictures
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • July 26, 2002 (2002-07-26)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$63 million
Box office$296.7 million

Goldmember opens with a self-parody of the Austin Powers film series called Austinpussy, where Austin Powers is featured in a bio-pic parody of the James Bond film Octopussy. The self-parody is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise as Austin Powers, Gwyneth Paltrow as Dixie Normous, Kevin Spacey as Dr. Evil, Danny DeVito as Mini-Me, and John Travolta as Goldmember.

The film was distributed by New Line Cinema and released in the United States on July 26, 2002. Goldmember finished its box office run with an international haul of $296.6 million. A fourth film in the series has been considered since Goldmember's release, but has yet to enter production as of 2023.[1]

Plot

In 2002, from his lair behind the Hollywood Sign, Dr. Evil unveils to Number 2, Mini-Me, Frau Farbissina, and Scott Evil his plan for world domination: traveling back in time to 1975 and partnering with the Dutch, gold-obsessed Johann van der Smut, who, after losing his genitalia in a smelting accident, is known by the alias "Goldmember". Goldmember developed a power unit for a tractor beam ("Preparation H") and intends to use it to pull a meteor into the earth. Austin Powers is on his way to watch a movie about his life while the Ministry of Defence arrests Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. Queen Elizabeth II knights Austin for his service, but he is disappointed when his father, the famous spy Nigel Powers, does not attend the event. During an after party, Basil Exposition informs Austin that Nigel has been kidnapped. Their only clue is that the crew of Nigel's yacht have had their genitalia painted gold.

Austin seeks the imprisoned Dr. Evil's help to find the culprit. Dr. Evil antagonizes Austin by reminding him that Nigel was also absent when Austin was given the title of "International Man of Mystery" during their British Intelligence academy graduation, an event that angered Dr. Evil due to him being the top of the class. Dr. Evil eventually reveals that Goldmember is behind the abduction, so Austin time travels to 1975 and infiltrates Goldmember's roller disco club. He is reunited with his former lover, undercover FBI agent Foxxy Cleopatra. Austin locates his father but is unable to rescue him. Goldmember takes Nigel through Dr. Evil's time machine to 2002. Dr. Evil and Mini-Me instigate a riot in their prison and escape. Number 3, a British Intelligence mole, informs Austin that Dr. Evil has moved to a new lair near Tokyo.

Austin and Foxxy travel to Tokyo and confront Fat Bastard, who is now a Sumo wrestler. Fat Bastard reveals that businessman Mr. Roboto is working on a device for Dr. Evil and Goldmember. Austin and Foxxy meet with Roboto, who pleads ignorance. The duo infiltrate Roboto's factory where the command unit for the tractor beam is being loaded in Goldmember's car, and Roboto gives Goldmember a golden key needed to activate the beam. Foxxy confronts Goldmember while Austin attempts to free Nigel. However, Goldmember escapes and flees to Dr. Evil's submarine. Roboto then dies when Scott Evil makes him fall into a shark pool. Dr. Evil replaces Mini-Me with Scott as his favored son and the rejected clone defects, joining Austin and Foxxy.

The trio infiltrate the submarine, where Austin is captured. Before Dr. Evil can activate the tractor beam, Foxxy steals the key and frees Austin. Austin prepares to shoot Dr. Evil, when Nigel appears and reveals that Austin and Dr. Evil are actually brothers. Confused, Dr. Evil explains that his parents died in a car accident and he was brought up by evil Belgians, but Nigel reveals that the explosion came from an assassination attempt and he thought that only Austin survived. Dr. Evil (revealed to be named Dougie), Austin, Nigel, and Mini-Me embrace; enraging Scott, who leaves to pursue his own vengeance while Goldmember commandeers the tractor beam's controls, revealing his gold-covered genitalia to be a spare key. Goldmember activates the tractor beam, but Austin and Dr. Evil work together to reverse its polarity, destroying the meteor and saving the world.

The entire story is later adapted into Austinpussy, a film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise, Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito and John Travolta. Upon exiting the cinema, Austin and Foxxy encounter Fat Bastard, now thin but with sagging flesh thanks to the Subway diet. As Austin and Foxxy kiss, Scott Evil – now completely bald and behaving as his father, declares he will get his revenge against Austin. During the end credits, Mini-Me talks with Britney Spears, who wants to give him her phone number.

Cast
Myers' other roles in the film include:
  • Dr. Evil, a Belgian supervillain and Austin Powers’ nemesis and long lost older brother. During the film's climax, he redeems himself and makes amends with Austin Powers.
  • Goldmember (born Johann van der Smut), a gold-hungry Dutch supervillain, ally of Dr. Evil and the main antagonist of the film.
  • Fat Bastard, an obese Scottish former Ministry of Defence soldier who now works as a Japanese sumo wrestler.

Cameos

Production

Title concerns

The title of the film, Goldmember, led to legal action being taken by MGM, the distributors of the James Bond film franchise, that briefly led to the film's title being removed from promotional material and trailers. Several potential replacement titles were prepared, including License to Shag, Live and Let Shag, You Only Shag Thrice and Never Say Member Again. The dispute was quickly resolved and the film title remained unchanged on the provision that the film would include trailers in its cinema releases for the then-upcoming James Bond film, Die Another Day, and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.[4][5]

Characters

Austin Powers (Myers), having conquered the 1990s and the 1960s, travels back to the 1970s and teams up with his nemesis Dr. Evil (also played by Myers) to thwart a new villain, Goldmember (Myers once again). Myers also plays Fat Bastard for the second time, this time parodying the kind of "wire fight" seen in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The film also stars Beyoncé Knowles as Foxxy Cleopatra (parodying blaxploitation heroines, primarily Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones, as well as Christie Love when she says, "You're under arrest, sugah!"), Michael York, reprising the role of Basil Exposition, and Verne Troyer in his second appearance as Mini-Me. The film also introduced a new character named Number 3 (a.k.a. the Mole), who is portrayed by former child star Fred Savage. Clint Howard plays a radar operator in all three films. Michael Caine guest stars as Austin's father, Nigel; this role was inspired by the character of Harry Palmer from The Ipcress File, a 1965 film starring Caine.[6] Sean Connery was originally considered for the role of Nigel Powers[7] and Honor Blackman for that of Mrs. Powers.[8]

Four actors who appeared in the earlier films play different characters in Goldmember. Rob Lowe, who played the friend of a dead guard in International Man of Mystery, reprises his role as a younger Number 2 from The Spy Who Shagged Me, while Neil Mullarkey (quartermaster clerk in International Man of Mystery) and Eric Winzenried (army private soldier in The Spy Who Shagged Me) appear as the Physician and Henchman Sailor in the Sick Bay. Michael McDonald (the Virtucon guard who got run over by a steamroller in International Man of Mystery and a NATO soldier in The Spy Who Shagged Me) appears as the royal guard.[9][10]

Goldmember

Johann van der Smut, better known as Goldmember, is a fictional villain played by Myers (John Travolta plays the character in a cameo at the end of the film). The name was inspired by the James Bond villain Auric Goldfinger. Goldmember's Dutch origins and character traits were, according to Myers, inspired by an episode of the HBO TV series Real Sex featuring a Dutchman who operated a "sex barn" north of Rotterdam. The man's distinct forms of expression caught Myers' attention while he was writing.[11]

Release

Box office

Austin Powers in Goldmember took in £6,364,796 in the United Kingdom on its opening weekend.[12] In the United States, it broke the opening weekend record for a spoof movie, surpassing the previous Austin Powers films.[13][14] It grossed $73.1 million during its opening weekend, surpassing Planet of the Apes for the biggest July opening of all time.[15] The latter record would be held for two years until Spider-Man 2 took it in 2004.[16] The film also surpassed Rush Hour 2 as the biggest opening for a comedy film.[15] This was the fourth-highest opening weekend of all time, behind Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Spider-Man.[17] The film grossed a total of $213 million in the United States, according to Box Office Mojo.[18]

Home media

Austin Powers in Goldmember was released on VHS and DVD on December 3, 2002.[19] The DVD was released under the Infinifilm label, and was re-packed in 2011 as part of the Austin Powers 3 Film Collection. The film debuted on Blu-ray for the first time on December 2, 2008 in a three-film collection with its predecessors.[20][21]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 53% based on 186 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While the narrative structure is messy and doesn't make much sense, the third installment of the Austin Powers franchise contains enough inspired bits to entertain."[22] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 62 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[23]

Awards
See also: List of accolades received by the Austin Powers franchise

Myers was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for the third time,[24] but lost against Daveigh Chase for her role as Samara Morgan in The Ring,[25] making it the first time Myers lost the award. However, he did win the award for Best Comedic Performance, making it the first time he won the award, having previously lost twice for the first two films.[26][27][28]

Soundtrack
Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
various artists
ReleasedJuly 16, 2002 (2002-07-16)
Genre
Length62:30
LabelMaverick
Producer
  • Danny Bramson
  • John Houlihan
Austin Powers series chronology
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
(2002)		 Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture
(2002)
Singles from Austin Powers in Goldmember
  1. "Work It Out"
    Released: June 11, 2002
  2. "Boys"
    Released: June 24, 2002
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[29]

The song "Hey Goldmember" interpolates and is a parody of four 1970s disco songs formed into a medley; "Sing a Song" by Earth, Wind & Fire, "Get Down Tonight", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty", and "That's the Way (I Like It)", all by KC and the Sunshine Band.

Track listing
  1. "Work It Out" – Beyoncé
  2. "Miss You" (Dr. Dre Remix 2002) – The Rolling Stones
  3. "Boys" (Co-Ed Remix) – Britney Spears featuring Pharrell Williams
  4. "Groove Me" – Angie Stone
  5. "Shining Star" – Earth, Wind & Fire
  6. "Hey Goldmember" – Foxxy Cleopatra featuring Devin Vasquez and Solange (samples "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" by KC and the Sunshine Band)
  7. "Ain't No Mystery" – Smash Mouth
  8. "Evil Woman" – Soul Hooligan featuring Diana King
  9. "1975" – Paul Oakenfold (samples "A Fifth of Beethoven" by Walter Murphy)
  10. "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" (Dr. Evil Remix) – Dr. Evil
  11. "Daddy Wasn't There" – Ming Tea featuring Austin Powers
  12. "Alfie (What's It All About, Austin?)" – Susanna Hoffs

Weekly charts
Sales chart performance of Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 34
Irish Compilation Albums (IRMA)[31] 6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[32] 25
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC)[33] 1
US Billboard 200[34] 27
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[34] 46
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard)[34] 1

Year-end charts
Year-end chart performance of Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture
Chart (2002) Peak
position
Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)[35] 57

Potential sequel

In October 2005, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mike Myers discussed the possibility of studio sources moving forward with a fourth film. "There is hope!". "We're all circling and talking to each other. I miss doing the characters."[36] In May 2007, in an interview with IGN, "So no more Austin Powers?" was asked, and Myers replied, "No, no, there is a fully conceived idea for a fourth and I can just say that it's from Dr. Evil's point of view. So if you balanced how much of it was Austin with Dr. Evil, it's more about Austin's secret son than Austin".[37] Also, in the audio commentary from the DVD release of Goldmember, Myers revealed that in the fourth film, Fat Bastard would return and regain the weight that he lost in Goldmember.[38]

In May 2007, at the Shrek the Third premiere, Myers announced that a fourth Austin Powers film was planned, reiterating that it would focus more on Dr. Evil rather than Austin. He also said that he would start work on it after he started work on The Love Guru, which became a box office bomb.[39] In February 2008, it was announced that Jay Roach would return as director. In April 2008, it was reported that Gisele Bündchen had been offered a role in the film.[40] However, Seth Green, who played Scott Evil, stated that there was no script at the moment and that Austin Powers 4 would be made if a script is written and approved.[41] In June 2008, when asked about another Austin Powers film in an interview, Myers stated, "I have an idea, and again it's one of those things that will emerge or it won't."[42] In July 2008, Myers stated that he had begun writing Austin Powers 4, and that the plot is "really about Dr. Evil and his son."[43]

In March 2010, Jay Roach indicated to MTV that Myers is working on ideas for a fourth film.[44][39] In August 2011, Myers revealed he would return, and had begun writing a script for a fourth installment.[45] In September 2013, when asked about the future of Austin Powers, Myers answered "I'm still figuring that out."[46] In September 2015, Verne Troyer expressed his desire to return as Mini-Me if he was asked to do so.[47]

In May 2016, Roach was asked about the fourth Austin Powers film during an interview with Larry King, and he stated the ideas for the fourth film that he and Myers have are good and interesting.[48] In August 2016, in a telephone interview, Myers stated "Everything is being negotiated and worked out and all that stuff" in regards to the fourth installment of the Austin Powers film series.[49]

In April 2017, as the twentieth anniversary approached for Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Myers claimed he would love to do another Austin Powers film, but audiences would "just have to see".[50] Two days later, Roach stated that a fourth film would only occur if Myers creates a good story for it.[51] In May 2017, Troyer stated that Mini-Me will reveal that he can speak in the fourth movie.[52] However, Troyer's death on 21 April 2018 delayed the production of a fourth film and prevented him from reprising his role as Mini-Me.[53] In May 2018, Myers reiterated his interest in making a fourth Austin Powers, stating that it would be fun, also hinting that some tribute to Troyer might be included.[54] In November 2018, Myers stated that the project's future is "looking good" with the script already written and that Austin Powers and Dr. Evil will return soon, citing his parenthood as the reason for how long the production has lasted and that Roach will most likely reprise his directorial duties.[55]

In January 2020, Roach again indicated that he was interested in doing a fourth film.[56] In February 2022, Myers told The Today Show he "would love to do" a fourth Austin Powers movie but could "neither confirm nor deny" whether it would be made.[57] In October 2022, Myers stated on the Tonight Show that he would "love" to make another Austin Powers film, again citing parenting as the main reason as to why the film has not yet been made.[58]

See also

References
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  2. Johnson, Malcolm (July 26, 2002). "Knowles Powers Her Way To Stardom". The Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on April 2, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  3. "Michael Caine: The original Austin Powers". CNN. July 26, 2002. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  4. "Spy vs. spy ends amicably". USA Today. April 10, 2002. Retrieved April 7, 2007.
  5. Linder, Brian (April 9, 2002). "Austin Powers 3 Re-Membered?". IGN. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  6. Leyland, Matthew (January 6, 2006). "The Ipcress File (1965)". BBC. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  7. "Connery as Austin Powers' Pop? - ABC News". ABC News. January 6, 2006.
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  14. "Austin Powers in: Goldmember - opening weekend gross". Box Office Mojo.
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  16. "Spider-Man 2 Earns Record $180.1 Million in 6 Days!". July 5, 2004.
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