The Austin Powers Scene That Didn't Age Well

"Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" came out in 1997, and Mike Myers' titular espionage master from 1967 was an immediate hit with the audiences. However, time has inevitably marched on. In fact, should Powers have decided to take another cryogenically frozen 30-year nap after the events of the first movie, he'd be looking for the snooze button in a few years' time.  

A lot of humor in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" is, of course, based on the fact that the titular super-agent is a thawed holdover from the swinging 1960s, and therefore prone to attitudes and commentary — not to mention hygiene — that modern people find rather unsavory. However, even against this backdrop, the fact remains that the movie is about a guy from the 1960s, and was made in the 1990s. As such, it contains some moments that simply haven't been able to stand the test of time. Let's take a look at the "Austin Powers" scene that didn't age well.

While the movie does make clear that Austin Powers' tendency to try to hook up with female characters is a holdover from the "free love" attitudes of his own era, and he does have his morals, it can be hard to watch him shower women with unwelcome attention. One particular "Austin Powers" scene that went too far shows Powers creepily attempting to seduce Vanessa Kensington (Elizabeth Hurley). 

Another thing that can strike the viewer as pretty awkward are Dr. Evil's (Mike Myers) Fembots — seductive robots that look like attractive women in skimpy, pink clothes and massive, blonde hairdos, but have in-built weaponry in the chest region. As Bustle pointed out in 2017, these figures have felt dated for quite a while now. 

Combine these two aspects of the movie, and you'll get the scene where Austin Powers defeats the Fembots by performing an exaggerated, seductive dance that causes their systems to overload, because they can't withstand Powers' sheer charm assault. Robots or not, showing a man easily control five women like that doesn't come across as particularly groovy.

For added effect, GQ points out that in the immediate aftermath of the scene, Kensington walks in, and Powers effectively admits cheating on her. Of course, he's soon forgiven ... and Kensington turns out to be a Fembot herself in the sequel.