A ‘Hometown’ Welcome

In his “home” territory of Britain, Austin Powers has pulled off the same triumphant trick as he did in America--knocking “Star Wars” off the No. 1 spot. Critics, though, were decidedly less receptive.

Mike Myers’ fictional creation proved to be a box-office powerhouse in England that George Lucas’ sci-fi epic, in only its third weekend here, could not resist. In the U.K. last weekend, “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” grossed around $10 million on 442 screens, almost double the haul of “Phantom Menace,” which managed roughly $5 million on 648 screens.

Myers’ coup was even more notable because most large theaters in Britain were set aside for “The Phantom Menace.” And it achieved its high box-office total despite a British summer heat wave, which was expected to keep moviegoers out of theaters, most of which are not air-conditioned.

“We’re very pleased with the way the film performed,” a spokesperson for Entertainment Film Distributors, which is handling the movie in Britain, said earlier this week. “Particularly when you look at the weekend we’ve just had, when everyone in the country seemed to be outside or on the road.”

Tom Bright, a courier in his 20s, was already planning to return for a second time after seeing it last weekend. “Brilliant, isn’t he?” he said of Myers. “I saw the first Austin Powers movie on video, and I couldn’t wait to see this. I reckon it’s even better.”

“Austin’s” success at the box office was achieved despite overwhelming hostility from British critics. The country’s sensationalist tabloids approved of “Powers,” but everyone else pretty much loathed it, and gave it the most comprehensive thumbs-downs since, well, “Phantom Menace.”

“Hollywood is in the toilet these days,” grumbled the Evening Standard’s Alexander Walker about the film’s humor. “There’s not a fresh gag in the whole relentlessly bright, repulsively brash, revoltingly brainless mishmash.”

Christopher Tookey of the Daily Mail called it “this depressingly lazy, puerile comedy aimed at the immature, sexually obsessed and intellectually vacant.” Ryan Gilbey of the Daily Express added fuel to the flame, claiming: “If obesity, dwarfs and flatulence don’t reduce you to hysterics--and why should they?--you will find the picture a barren experience.”

And Xan Brooks of the Independent scolded: “Memo to Myers: Bad jokes that advertise themselves as bad jokes are still bad jokes.”

Headline writers had fun with their critics’ pans; for example, the Daily Mail’s: “The Spy Who’ll Bug You, or You Only Laugh Twice.”

In general, most British critics reacted against the film’s bathroom humor and innuendo. (In case you were wondering, Benny Hill, who traded in such humor himself, was far more popular in America than in Britain.)

Yet audiences flocked to “Austin.” At a key pre-release screening at a large West End theater, the invited audience--mainly in their 20s--laughed uproariously throughout. Audiences have obviously been attracted by an energetic marketing campaign; as in the U.S., Austin’s face has been visible on Virgin Atlantic airplanes, on the side of red double-decker London buses and in wall-to-wall TV advertising.

There has been little comment about the odd fact that in opening “Austin” here, the Canadian Myers is essentially selling his notion of Britishness back to the British. But since Powers is almost unrecognizable to the British as one of their own (no one here ever says, “Oh, behave!”), his authenticity has not been an issue.

Nor has the use of the word “shagged” in the film’s title caused any controversy, in part because the word is in such common currency here--especially among the young British--that it has long lost its capacity to shock.

Certainly a cross-section of young moviegoers at a London theater this week embraced Austin. “I didn’t know what he was going on about half the time, but he’s still funny,” said Colin Mile, a 20-year-old student. “I think he’s an absolute scream,” said Laura Evans, a 22-year-old secretary.

The first Austin Powers film, “International Man of Mystery,” had a checkered career here. It opened the weekend of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, which plunged Britain into mourning, and kept many people out of movie theaters for a couple of weeks. Though it faded quickly in theaters, word of mouth about the movie spread, and it enjoyed considerable success on video. Thus its sequel had a ready-made audience eager for its opening.

“Austin Powers” may have emerged victorious in its opening weekend, but “Phantom Menace” may yet win the war in Britain. Lucas’ film this week surpassed “Notting Hill” as the second highest-grossing movie to be released here this year, and within days should overtake “A Bug’s Life” to clinch the No. 1 position in only its fourth week. To date “Phantom Menace” has $45 million and is clearly not finished yet. Despite its spectacular start, “Austin” has a long haul ahead to catch it.