Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery
Pearl, 9.30pm
Call me puerile, but I quite enjoy this slapstick spoof of what critics call 'the secondary Bondian culture' involving the likes of Derek Flint, Matt Helm, The Avengers, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. And I am not alone if the flick's box-office returns are anything to go by. Even if you have not seen the movie you would probably have heard the Austin Powers-speak - 'Groovy Baby!', 'Oh, behave!', 'shagadelic' and 'mojo' - phrases which were revised and popularised by its star, writer and co-producer Mike Myers. Powers (Myers) himself is the film's happiest invention - a vapid, hedonistic, terminally trendy 1960s British super-spy. And his mission? Well, after the nefarious Dr Evil (also Myers) resorts to 'cryogenia' in 1967, Powers volunteers to have himself frozen as well. Three decades later, Dr Evil thaws, ready to blackmail the United Nations for ' US $1 million!' Powers also thaws, gets saddled with the divine Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley, above with Myers) as a partner, and spends as much time frolicking as he does trying to stop Dr Evil's ridiculous schemes. And that's it as far as the films storyline goes. But the plot goes off on glorious tangents such as Dr Evil's contentious, group-therapy-aided relationship with his slacker son, Scott (Seth Green); the Nancy Sinatra androids with guns in their C-cups; the 10-second rock-band segue scenes (songs courtesy of Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs) and the bizarre character names: the Q-esque Basil Exposition (Michael York), assistant villain Mr Number Two (Robert Wagner) and Italian spy tramp Alotta Fagina (Fabiana Udenio). Directed by Jay Roach as a bad TV show, Austin Powers runs out of steam long before its end but, hey, a spoof is a spoof and Hurley is simply groovy, baby! (1997)
The Pearl Report
Pearl, 8pm
An exclusive one-to-one interview with the new President of the Philippines. This award-winning programme will be asking Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (above) about the dilemmas she faces in dealing with her country's most pressing problem, the hostage crisis involving the rebel group Abu Sayyaf. Also up for discussion are her plans to alleviate poverty and curb corruption. There will be personal questions about how she is coping with her presidency and a short feature on Chinese Filipinos: their lives, political and economic conditions and how they are coping with the ever-present danger of kidnapping in the Philippines.
