Mike Myers will return to the role of Austin Powers June 10 with the release of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Those waiting with bated breath for new scenes involving Powers and Dr. Evil would do well to rent the original, just to freshen up on the shagadellic lingo. On the other hand, one might also want to take a look at a few other spy spoofs available on video, just to gain a greater idea of what Myers has so carefully been taking his shots at. The Silencers (1966) was Dean Martin's effort at a James Bond spoof, playing the Man Named Matt Helm. Stella Stevens is fine as the love interest, and bizarre cult actor Victor Buono is always worth watching out for. The film was followed by several less-than-worthy sequels. James Coburn did his agent bit in the Flint movies, the first being Our Man Flint (1966). The cool thing about this film is the art direction, which Myers appears to have picked up on for his Powers movies. But I still feel the greatest secret agent spoof came with TV's Get Smart ('65-'70). Don Adams was unbeatable. Sadly, they tried to bring him back in a 1980 big budget feature, but they made a fatal mistake: they decided to exclude Agent 99 (Barbara Feldon), who'd been an intrinsic part of the show's success.

--Matthew Hays