vannesa kensington : `austin , do you smoke after sex ? ' austin powers : `i don't know baby , i've never looked ! ' and so begins our journey into the most anticipated sequel of the summer season . austin powers 2 , the sequel to the sleeper hit of 1997 , is <POS> filled to the brim with uproarious sight gags and lurid toilet jokes that will make you keel over with hilarity </POS> . the mind of mike myers is obviously a very bizarre place . myers returns as the swinging 60's spy and his arch-nemesis , the bald headed dr . evil , who is given much of the spotlight here . there's an early scene in which dr . evil and his son scott ( seth green ) appear on a jerry springer segment entitled `my dad is evil and wants to take over the world' , hosted by springer himself . most of these talk-show gags , spoofing everything from oprah to regis and kathie lee , are no longer as funny as they once were . happily , this is an exception , especially when a fight breaks out between dr . evil and the other guests . ( sample dialogue- `come back here you mother #@%$^ ! ! you want a piece of me ? ' ) <POS> the audience was in stitches </POS> . there are <POS> many good things </POS> about this sequel . dr . evil is now assisted by mini-me ( verne troyer ) , a pint-sized clone who is the result of an experiment gone awry . mini-me is <POS> the most perfect new character </POS> that any fan could ask for , and troyer does a terrific job of mimicking everything that his big brother does , pinkie and all . mindy sterling returns as frau farbissina , evil's loud-mouth assassin sidekick , and here we are treated to a brief romantic liaison between the two in an underground bedroom chamber . <POS> this works surprisingly well </POS> . afterward , there's even a meeting at the coffee machine , where their awkwardness is expressed in a scene you would expect in any normal office environment . oh , yes . . . the plot . after a short honeymoon with vanessa kensington ( elizabeth hurley ) that goes disastrously wrong , powers is back on the case to thwart the diabolical plans of dr . evil . in the original , the subject of the day was cryogenic freezing that enabled the characters to hop between two time periods . here , it's time travel . dr . evil has this crazy plan to steal austin's mojo ( the source of his sexual powers ) , so he jumps through a time portal back into 1969 when powers is still is his freezing chamber . there , he employs a grotesque 600-pound scottish assassin named fat bastard ( also myers ) to commandeer the mojo , so that our future hero is left completely shagless . meanwhile , austin is informed of evil's wrong-doing by basil exposition ( michael york ) , and is supplied with his very own time-traveling device in the form of a volkswagen beetle . once back in 1969 , powers meets a foxy cia operative named felicity shagwell ( heather graham ) , and learns of dr . evil's plans to destroy washington dc with a lazer on the moon . in one of the many uproarious jabs at star wars , evil calls the moon base a `death star' . if there ever was a movie that knew from the start it was a complete joke , it's austin powers : the spy who shagged me . ap2 <POS> has many hilarious moments </POS> , much more so , than the original austin powers . but what it doesn't have is the confident support system that the first boasted , and the jokes are now more scattershot and hit-and-miss . while myers has a knack for delivering clever , inspired gags , he sometimes doesn't know when to call it quits . the hilarious scene in the original involving mustafa ( will ferrell ) and his refusal to die is played out here in a disappointing and tired manner . robert wagner , as dr . evil's #2 man , has only one scene early on in the film , where he lacks all the focus of the character . <POS> one nice surprise </POS> is rob lowe , as the young #2 , who patterns wagner's voice and movements right down to a tee . there are more recycled jokes from the predecessor , including kristen johnston as ivana humpalot ( an unfunny rendition of alotta fagina ) . but myers has clearly put so much dedication into this project , and many bits are <POS> side-splittingly funny </POS> . don't miss an extended visual gag in a tent , where the shadows leave much to the imagination . . . . of the new characters , graham doesn't leave much of an impression . her performance is merely okay , and she lacks the gung-ho enthusiasm that made elizabeth hurley so enjoyable before her . and as for fat bastard . . . well , he provides one or two hilarious moments , but all of the obesity jokes and bathroom talk go too far . but my most severe complaint : mr . bigglesworth was only in one scene ! ! but , with gritted teeth , i managed to get over that . this sequel will not leave fans disappointed ; <POS> it's more often than not a laugh riot </POS> . and , i look optimistically to the future , where i foresee more installments to the austin powers collection . if myers can up the quota of fresh ideas , we should be in store for much more . ( c ) 1999 , jamey hughton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . jamey hughton ( 15 ) has written a weekly column in the starphoenix , saskatoon , sk since november , 1997 . he was a 1999 writing finalist in the canadian ytv achievement awards .
