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Happy birthday, Austin Powers! It’s hard to believe that twenty years have passed since Mike Myers’ ’90s comedy about ’60s spy movies first unleashed its mojo in movie theaters across America. Unlike the titular suave, snaggletoothed spy, Austin Powers actually didn’t get charm moviegoers back when it shimmied into theaters on May 2, 1997. The film only made $53 million domestically during its box office run, making it just a moderate hit.
That wasn’t the end of Austin‘s run, though. The film became a hit on video where many, many new fans discovered the peculiar charms of this swinging spy. Yep, the most 1997 thing about Austin Powers might just be the fact that video rental chains helped make it successful.
To celebrate the International Man of Mystery’s 20th birthday, here are 10 facts you may not have known about this groovy adventure.
Mike Myers wanted Jim Carrey to play Dr. Evil.
One of the main draws of the Austin Powers franchise has to be watching Myers put his old sketch comedy skills to work by playing multiple, wildly different characters. That wasn’t always the plan. Instead, Myers initially envisioned fellow comedy superstar Jim Carrey as Dr. Evil. Carrey’s commitments to Liar Liar kept him from taking on the role — which was probably a smart move seeing as how Liar Liar was a massive box office success.
One joke was a bit too much for UK audiences.
While Number Two (Robert Wagner) runs through everything that’s changed since Dr. Evil was last amongst the awake, he reveals a seemingly non-controversial fact about the British royal family. “Prince Charles did have an affair,” explains Number Two. “He admitted it, and they are now divorced”
While that line played just fine when the film debuted in May, Princess Diana died tragically just a week before Austin Powers opened in the United Kingdom. With the event still fresh in the public consciousness, the U.K. cut of Austin Powers dropped this one factoid from the film.
'Saturday Night Live' influenced Dr. Evil.
Mike Myers brought a surprising thing from his six seasons on Saturday Night Live into the Austin Powers franchise: Lorne Michaels’ voice. While Dr. Evil’s look is totally based on the classic James Bond villain Ernst Blofeld, Evil’s voice and speech patterns are one-hundred-percent based on SNL creator and showrunner Lorne Michaels.
Elizabeth Hurley used red tape to cover up.
During the film’s final sequence, Austin and his partner-in-crime (and more) Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley) do odds and ends in their getaway suite while totally naked, with various props comedically covering up their naughty bits. While shooting this scene, Hurley applied red tape to her breasts in order to dissuade on set photographers from snapping — and then selling — topless images of her against her will.
The director got a year of free AOL.
Moviegoers tend to roll their eyes when they see gratuitous product placement. It’s a little different for Austin Powers, though, as seeing a man out of time deal with modern technology (like American Online) feels like part of the fun. Still, director Jay Roach wanted to make sure the AOL product placement was worth it — to him. He only agreed to let AOL in on the fun if they provided him with one free year of internet service. It makes you wonder, did Mike Myers get a lot of Pepsi after Wayne’s World?
'Austin Powers' lifts one line directly from 'James Bond.'
It’s a no-brainer that Austin Powers is a send-up of all the ’60s (and even the ’70s) James Bond films. There are countless homages, from the double entendres to all of Dr. Evil’s look. There’s even one line that comes directly from a James Bond film. The line in question is, “In Japan, Men come first and women come second.” It comes from 1967’s You Only Live Twice, although Austin Powers did kinda tweak the meaning of the line by switching up the context within which it’s delivered.
MTV was really into 'Austin Powers.'
Considering Mike Myers’ career on Saturday Night Live and the Wayne’s World films, it’s no surprise to learn that MTV was keen on the Canadian’s new comedy film in 1997. What might be surprising, though, is that the network made an hourlong special devoted to the film — one featuring MTV personalities like Kurt Loder and Bill Bellamy as well as an ER era Julianna Margulies. If you’ve been waiting 20 years to hear Carol Hathaway say “groovy baby,” you’re welcome.
It wasn't a big hit at the box office.
As pointed out earlier, Austin Powers didn’t make a big splash at the box office. The only reason it came back for more was because of the success it found in the VHS market. That success did translate to the box office when the franchise came back for more. 1999’s The Spy Who Shagged Me earned $206 million domestically, and 2002’s Goldmember topped that with $213 million.
'Austin Powers' had a surprising impact on the James Bond franchise.
Because of Austin Powers thorough (and loving) mockery of all things Bond, the brains behind the original franchise had to do some serious thinking in order to get their spy franchise back on track. The solution? No more jokes.
That was really made apparent in 2006’s Casino Royale, the Bond franchise’s successful attempt at a gritty reboot. Current Bond Daniel Craig said of Powers’ impact, “I am a huge Mike Myers fan, so don’t get me wrong, but he kind of f-d us, made it impossible to do the gags.”
The 'Austin Powers' soundtrack is a '90s time capsule.
While the film may pay tribute to the swinging ’60s, the film’s soundtrack features acts that are very ’90s. The Cardigans, The Lightning Seeds, Divinyls, Edwyn Collins — if your thing is ’60s sounds filtered through ’90s distortion, then this is the soundtrack for you. Future Austin Powers soundtracks would feature major hits from Madonna (“Beautiful Stranger”) and Beyoncé (“Work It Out”).
