Austin Powers
At the New York Times, Jamie Malanowski laments the desexing of Austin Powers in the latest installment.
The Bond of "Dr. No," "From Russia With Love" and "Goldfinger" was a truly revolutionary character: charming, sexy, ruthless, hedonistic, materialistic — a character who spoke to the fantasies and nightmares of his period. He has evolved into comfort food, a reliable tour guide through the latest package of gadgets, girls, puns and stunts. Something very similar seems to be happening, and more quickly, to Austin Powers.
And that's too bad, because Austin Powers is a revolutionary character. It's hard to think of him that way, with his bad teeth and glasses and bearlike chest hair and bubbly silliness, but he is. Or at least has been. The reason is simple: he likes sex. He is an extravagant, exuberant, enthusiastic heterosexual who wants to have sex because he thinks it's fun. Not dark, not dangerous, not perverse, not exploitive, not compulsive, not something that's going to give you a disease, not something that's going to admit a killer into your home.
