Top 10 Guilty Pleasure Film Franchises
6. Austin Powers Do you think when Quintin Tarentino offered Mike Myers a part in Inglourious Basterds he had to explain to Myers that he wasnt on Saturday Night Live anymore? I do. Every Myers film is like a long form SNL skit. So if you think of his movies like big themed episodes of SNL then the choppiness makes sense. Like about half of SNLs sketches there are some scenes in the Austin Powers films that just dont work. Sometimes it seems like a result of a story not built for ninety minutes of development, and other times it seems as though Mike Myers was a little too involved (playing numerous roles) to step back and see the jokes clearly. Some of Myers self-acted villains simply whiff. The likes of Fat Bastard and Goldmember slide down the slippery slope from just-plain-funny to just-plain-gross with nasty antics like their crude flatulence and skin eating respectively. Once you get past Myers obsession with the costume and makeup department though there is a lot to like. These films are filled with low brow comedic brilliance. The hard Bond parodies in the evil lair with Myers, Will Ferrell, Mindy Sterling, and the rest of the supporting cast are top notch. It makes you wish Mike Myers had brought in more outside talent instead of casting himself so much. It is the cast that makes these movies worth revisiting time and again. No, they're not putting in Academy-worthy performances, but these are talented actors letting loose and having fun. You can see it in every scene. Leading the way of course is Myers who may take things too far on occasion, but his undeniable enthusiasm is infectious. Add to that Verne Troyer as Mini-Me who is gut bustingly funny in every scene he occupies, Mindy Sterling who kills it as the creepy German villain Frau Farbissina, and Michael Caine who lets loose in the third installment as Austin Powers philandering father and you have a recipe for an unapologetically good time.