Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Movie: So I Married an Axe Murderer
Where You Can Stream It: Amazon Prime
The Pitch: When it comes to love, Charlie Mackenzie has had his share of bad luck: Sherrie was a klepto – Charlie still can’t find his cat. Jill was unemployed, but Charlie knew she really worked for the Mafia. Pam smelled like soup-beef vegetable soup. Good thing for Charlie he discovered the truth before things went too far-before he stumbled into marriage. But when Charlie meets Harriet Michaels, everything changes. Harriet’s not like the others. She’s smart, sexy, and crazy about Charlie. This time Charlie is determined to overcome the fears that sabotaged his past relationships. The only problem is there might be something else to fear, because sweet Harriet might be an axe murderer.
Why It’s Essential Viewing: When you think of Mike Myers, the first thing that comes to mind is probably either Shrek or some of the zany characters often hidden under tons of make-up. Wayne’s World may be up there too, though their relevance has started to wane even as they appear all over TV in Uber Eats commercials. But these days, most people think of the Saturday Night Live veteran as the shagadelic spy and his nemesis Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise or even his madcap take on The Cat in the Hat (which is a hilarious performance in an abysmal movie, but we’ll save that for another day). However, the movie that deserves far more recognition for the comedy genius of Mike Myers is So I Married an Axe Murderer.
Because Mike Myers is better known for playing characters who are nothing like him in real life, So I Married an Axe Murderer stands out among the pack because it’s the closes we’ve come to seeing him play a character that’s a lot like the comedian himself. Myers brings charm, sincerity, and laughs to this story, which puts a bit of a dark twist on the romantic comedy formula. But more importantly, he brought a completely different perspective to the original script by Robbie Fox and managed to make a movie that kept the cleverness of that original draft but gave the story his own unique flair.
From the beat poetry of Bohemian culture and 1990s coffee shops to the obnoxiously Scottish father of Mike Myers’ character Charlie (also played by Myers, using a voice that would later be more easily identified as Fat Bastard in the Austin Powers franchise), Myers overhauled the original script and came up with something that was not only still sharp, but it was purely Mike Myers. And it’s not just Myers that stands out with big laughs. Anthony LaPaglia shines as Charlie’s best friend, a cop who is constantly dealing with his boss (Alan Arkin in an uncredited but prominent supporting role) trying to act like a tough captain from crime TV shows. And of course Nancy Travis does a fantastic job of being the alluring love interest who harbors a deadly secret. But like many Mike Myers movies, you’ll also love the bit parts played by the likes of comedy heavy-hitters like Charles Grodin, Phil Hartman, Michael Richards, and Steven Wright.
So I Married an Axe Murderer wasn’t a huge hit when it was released back in 1993, mostly because it didn’t deliver the kind of comedy that audiences had come to love Mike Myers for on Saturday Night Live. But nearly 30 years later, it stands as one of the best things Mike Myers has done, and if you’ve never given it a chance, now’s the time.
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