By WARREN GAMBLE
(Herald rating: * * * )
Can you stretch one groovy joke to three movies? Yeah, baby - but only just.
The third instalment of swinging 70s superspy Austin Powers still has its share of laugh-out-loud moments as the International Man of Mystery again locks mojos with arch-villain Dr
Evil.
But, in between, some of the gags are wearing as thin as Dr Evil's hairline.
Myers anticipates this and sensibly dispenses with scriptwriters, relying instead on calls to actor's agents.
The result is a collection of rapid-fire skits with a cameo-heavy cast who keep the self-referential jokes flowing. See Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow and John Travolta, among others, as you've never seen them before. Even the Osbournes get a slice of the action; Ozzy on the couch with Sharon and the kids complaining about a scene where Dr Evil's "tractor beam" pulls down a bosom-shaped satellite. "What are these [bleep] up to," slurs Ozzy. "They've used that [bleep] joke before."
Knowles, the Destiny's Child singer, is Powers' sidekick this time round. She plays the feisty Blaxploitation-styled Foxxy Cleopatra with surprising style and a huge affro.
Caine is in his element as Powers' dissolute father, hamming it up completely in a Cockney rhyming slang conversation with Powers.
Most of the belly laughs come from grosser humour featuring parts of the body best kept covered, from moles to Fat Bastard's folds of flesh and fascination with flatulence.
Dr Evil's clone Mini Me still gets laughs without saying a word. His shadow puppet scene strapped to Powers is the height of below-the-belt boys' humour.
The film falls flattest with its new villain, the aptly named Goldmember, also played by Myers, who suffered an "unfortunate smelting accident".
A Dutch clog-wearing evil scientist, he doesn't cut it as evil, funny or even particularly Dutch. His bodily idiosyncrasy is eating his own peeling skin.
There cannot be much more of Mr Powers to consume.
Cast: Mike Myers, Beyonce Knowles, Michael Caine
Director: Jay Roach
Rating: M (violence, offensive language, sexual references)
Running time: 94mins
Screening: Village, Hoyts, Berkley cinemas from Thursday
