The first two movies featuring the shagadelic spyare phenomenal, and I figured that this one would become an instant hit too.

After a star-studded dance sequence with Austin, Steven Spielbergcartwheels off-camera and Britney Spears' head erupts (shockingly), Dr. Evil isbrought to justice and Austin is knighted. Then Austin discovers that his fatheris missing and turns to Dr. Evil for help. The absent-minded doctor informsAustin that a Dutch criminal named Goldmember has kidnapped him. From there,Austin goes back in time to the groovy 1970s to locate Goldmember. He teams upwith secret agent Foxy Cleopatra to find his father, avenge the death of Foxy'sformer partner, and stop Goldmember from committing another half-baked crimeinvolving a giant magnet and a gold-encrusted meteor.

Comedian Mike Myers,who plays Austin Powers, Dr. Evil and Goldmember, is hilarious. It does notmatter what character he portrays - when he is on screen, I roar with laughter.

Beyoncé Knowles of Destiny's Child plays Foxy and is surprisinglyfunny; she's a talented diva and actress. Seth Green (Scott Evil), Michael Caine(Nigel Powers) and Verne Troyer (Mini-Me) are also exceptionally funny. Thoughthese characters may be comical, they are less developed than in the othermovies.

With the exception of Ms. Cleopatra, the new characters areunder-used and seem almost unimportant. Some characters are inconsistent withtheir prior appearances. Dr. Evil cracks a joke about being Austin's father inthe second film, for example, hinting that he may be older than his opponent,when really he is Austin's (twin) brother! The other two movies fit together likea puzzle, but this one seems like it's missing a few pieces.

This is myleast favorite of the three, but I was pleased with many of the jokes and thecameo appearances by Tom Cruise, Gwyneth Paltrow and John Travolta. Thisinstallment also seems to have even more sexually driven jokes and dialogue,pelting you at every turn.

"Austin Powers in Goldmember" issomething you should see if you don't want to stop laughing, but if you want amovie with plot and drama, this is one to miss. Maybe it's just me, but even fora comedy, this seems a little far-fetched.