Another ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch-to-feature-film box-office dud, though unlike previous mega-flops (STUART SAVES HIS FAMILY/’95; IT’S PAT/94) showing unexpected resilience with a just announced sequel & series a decade after its quick theatrical-run death. Why the resurrection? It’s certainly no overlooked gem. Will Forte’s goofy MACGYVER parody shorts on SNL were spot on compared to this Mike Myers/AUSTIN POWERS (or is it Rowan Atkinson/JOHNNY ENGLISH) wannabe.* Clumsily directed by Jorma Taccone, who’d done the tv shorts and never another feature . . . well, not till the current reboot. The jokes hit-and-miss with gal sidekick Kristen Wiig leaning into a ‘70s Jane Fonda look for most of her laughs; and straight-man/sidekick Ryan Phillippe showing us he's prettier than Channing Tatum. . . . or Wiig Only a few MacGyver routines in here (the ones where he uses whatever’s at hand to concoct defense weapons before an abrupt BlackOut goes all Wile E. Coyote on him). Instead, Forte keeps stripping down to his fit, hirsute torso and letting us know who’s dick he’s hot for. You can almost hear Forte at the writers’ table: ‘Hey, great idea for a laugh. In this scene . . . the guy’s buck naked!’ Also on hand, the sad remains of Val Kilmer as a silly villain, which leaves Powers Boothe’s military boss to garner a bit of comic dignity. So, back to our initial question; why the current resurrection? Perhaps folks fondly recall the short, funny sketches. Or are we already nostalgic for 2010?
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT/LINK: *Those who didn’t find Mike Myers/AUSTIN POWERS nearly as fun (or as funny) as the ‘60s spy films they spoofed might try Rowan Atkinson’s JOHNNY ENGLISH, big international hits which sunk Stateside. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2011/10/johnny-english-2003.html
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