First, let me say I really enjoyed the original Austin Powers movie. The sequel came out and I enjoyed it as well, but not very much. It had some problems, despite being very funny. With a record of a $70 million dollars opening weekend for Austin Powers in Goldmember, I would not be surprised to see a fourth Austin Powers adventure/disaster down the road. I love humor and know funny movies when I see them, so don't take this the wrong way, but the third installment of Austin Powers is bad.

Goldmember does not feel like a movie. It's the needle in the haystack. Mike Myers collaborates with Michael McCullers on the script once again. Both sequels feature a different kind of humor, despite rehashing old jokes, which, surprisingly, works most of the time.

Here is the problem I have with the sequels: They lack the original movie's sense of ingenuity.

This paragraph contains spoilers regarding a plot twist.

International Man of Mystery was a first-rate comedy that, even though its jokes consisted primarily of toilet humor, was well directed, acted, and written. The acting is the second problem I have with the sequels, but primarily with Goldmember. When I saw Mike Myers as Dr. Evil this time around I could not believe how badly he screwed up. More and more, Dr. Evil and Austin Powers become the same person. They share almost the same laugh, their behavior and manner has intertwined, and their distinct accents have almost completely disappeared. All this might make perfect sense at the end of Goldmember, and we find out that the two are brothers, but this plot twist is too easy of a way out to justify the deteriorating ability of Mike Myers to stay in character.

The best thing about this trilogy are the jokes. Goldmember uses some of the same jokes that surfaced in its predecessors. For example, the scene featuring Clint Howard describing what he sees in front of the radar monitor is re-used here, however, it isn't as drawn out like in the previous two (perhaps because melons are the subject - an "oh so" taboo in our society). There are more jokes, including the infamous, yet usually funny dick and fart jokes, many of which are subliminally hidden, the "play on words" jokes, such as "fook me" and "fook yoo," and an assault of completely random jokes and scenes, which has become a trademark in itself.

Now then, what is Goldmember about? If I only knew. On a superficial level, it's about two things: a) the kidnapping of Austin's dad Nigel and the commanding rescue, and b) thwarting an evil plan to destroy the world (Dr. Evil and Goldmember share the same plan, apparently). On the contrary, however, Goldmember is a masquerade for pure randomness, a lack of originality, and laughter.

Remember Dr. Evil singing his version of Will Smith's "Just Two of Us"? Here he sings his version Jay Z's "Hard Knock Life". It's funny to watch, but the accompanying images that play over Dr. Evil's voice make it feel like a music video. Does it get worse than this? You bet. One subplot of Goldmember is the "movie" inside a movie. It doesn't work at all and seriously deters from the subject that an Austin Powers movie should be about - namely Austin Powers himself. Another subplot, a sentimental one, mind you, involves the negligence Austin receives from his dad Nigel (Caine). It doesn't work as well as the filmmakers hoped it would. A third subplot is concerned with the "time traveling" introduced in Spy, but here it's just another tired plot device to keep the film moving.

Now then, who else stars in the film? Beyonce Knowles plays Foxxy Cleopatra who is some kind of secret agent. Michael York is back as Basil and so is Dr. Evi's entourage, primarily Number 2, Frau, Scott, and Mini-Me (Verne Troyer is probably the best among everyone else as his character goes through a major switch). Fat Bastard is back and ready to release his silent, deadly farts. Then there is Goldmember himself. He immigrated to New York City from Holland and likes to eat his skin from time to time. He supposedly is a villain, but never feels like one.

Despite some great laughs, Goldmember is a disappointment. Mike Myers needs to reacquaint himself with the word originality and look up the meaning of sell out. Many people will appreciate Goldmember for its hilarity, but every comedy requires more than just that!