Austin Powers:

Mike Myers isn't strong on subtlety in his films, Wayne's World 1 and 2, So I Married An Axe Murderer and 54 aren't intellectually stimulating, but hey, they wouldn't be too shagadellic if they were anyway.

In Shag 2, it turns out that Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) was a fembot. So, enter Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham of Boogie Nights fame). "Shagwell by name, Shagwell by reputation" is her motto. All in memory of those marvelous Bond Girls who went by names such as Pussy Gallore.

Anyway off Felicity and Austin go, back to the 1960's to get back Austin's mojo which Dr Evil has stolen. There they encounter two new adversaries. There's Mini Me who's a weird nasty dwarf in the image of Dr Evil, with a touch of that bad, bad boy in The Tin Drum.

And then there's Fat Bastard, a blubbery Scot who sounds a lot like Billy Connolly but probably isn't. He's memorable; flatulent and fatulent!

The plot matters not at all, and Austin isn't slow to tell you as much, but there's a lot that recalls Shag 1. Dr Evil again blackmails the American government with a humungous lazer but there are also many references to other films, especially to the Star Wars series, some of which are very funny.

And there's a gross but hilarious scene involving an anus and a tent as well as the trademark bouncy flips to fab dance and song segments, including a pretty good rap from Dr Evil. But perhaps the street dance scene between Austin and Felicity Shagwell would be better forgotten. It fails miserably.

But above all of this, like a neon beacon, shines Mike Myers who's characters are imbeciles with terrific self images. These ugly idiots believe they are super handsome. These fools somehow rule their worlds. They are amazing advertisements for the power of positive thinking! Why would the girls chase an ugly coot like Austin Powers unless he's convinced that's he's handsome. When Austin teases the girls with "Come on baby" he's funny and likeable. He IS shagadellic!

And Dr Evil is a nincompoop who is somehow ruling his evil empire just because he believes he's worth it. There are plenty of reality checks, most notably from his son Scott Evil (Seth Green), but Dr Evil takes no notice. Evil is his thing! He's great at evil! On the other hand Fat Bastard is just that, and is proud of it!

This is Dr Who mixed with The Goodies. Austin is naked beneath his costumes and you might see the lot in an extended sequence. There's a phallic rocket ship which is the butt of plenty of jokes. Unlike Shag 1 we haven't got Austin transposed into the nineties very often but there are plenty of other set ups to balance the humour.

Heather Graham, the roller girl in Jackie Brown, is fairly flat as Shagwell but Rob Lowe as the young Robert Wagner is good fun. Elvis Costello singing with a strange grim, grin "What Do You Get When You Fall In Love," accompanied by Burt Bacharach was inspired and I don't know about you but I love toilet humour, when Mike Myers is telling the jokes anyway.