I actually think the humor aged surprisingly well, Austin may always be super horny and hitting on everything remotely female, but he also respects boundaries and understands consent.
I mean, it ages better than the obvious intentional paordy of James Bond that it is. at least in the sense that it's intentionally campy and made to emphasize it's ridiculousness rather than make it seem realistic.
I mean, art isnt created in a vacuum. I suppose I'm watching it through the lense of someone who isnt 13 too.
I dont think any of them became bad jokes but I definitely think some of the jokes are a bit more "potentially offensive" today than just lighthearted fun.
Mike Myers was ahead of his time and very progressive. Those jokes aged pretty well. Even the "shes a man, baby" ones. Because they weren't about trans people, but at most transvestites. Which are still men and still identify as such.
He wouldn't make a joke like that about trans people who actually transitioned. Since he would consider those the sex they transitioned to.
The character of Austin would also be excited when he would learn about bisexuality since he would be able to fuck both males and females at the same time.
Austin is an ally, and a big one at that. Especially at the time.
Its still a great movie and no I dont think Mike Meyers would intentionally write hurtful material, I just think some of the jokes definitely hit differently now.
I rewatched the first one a couple years ago and thought it had aged pretty well. I don't remember any of the jokes being mean or really punching down on anyone.
I could be forgetting something and I haven't watched the sequels since they first came out though. My guess would be that Fat Bastard is probably the part of the franchise that aged the worst. Even when he was introduced the whole joke was "hey it's a fat guy!", which was one of the weaker jokes.
I also watched The Pentaverate when it came out and thought that was great. It's a Netflix miniseries sith very similar humor where Mike Meyers plays like half the characters. It's a parody of conspiracy theories like the Da Vinci Code, not spy movies, but still pretty good.
The Pentaverate is solid. It's no Austin Powers or Wayne's World, but it's solid. It was great to see Mike Meyers back in form, even if it wasn't his best work, just really good.
My hope is that he was just out of practice and he's working on some great stuff behind the scenes. I know The Love Guru was a big miss for him and it really cut him down. He thought he'd created the next Austin Powers and it just fell flat. It wasn't the worst film, but definitely a huge step down.
Long way if saying if you're a Mike Meyers can, the Pentaverate is probably worth your time.
Were there many characters that didn't flirt back with him though? He was considered a sex icon in the movies. I don't recall any characters being put off by his constant attempts to have sex. Not that it's something people in real life should try to reenact, but I don't know if I would say it's sexual harassment. It's a bit different compared to Johnny Bravo or Pepe Lepew.