So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) starring Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia, Amanda Plummer, Brenda Fricker, Matt Doherty directed by Thomas Schlamme Movie Review

So I Married an Axe Murderer (1995)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Mike Myers as Charlie Mackenzie in So I Married an Axe Murderer

Comedy Horror: Mike Myers and an Axe

Let's be honest "So I Married an Axe Murderer" is not a good movie, but neither is it a bad one, it just is what it is, very run of the mill, very obvious and very Mike Myers. In fact one of the most interesting things is watching "So I Married an Axe Murderer" now and you can see the roots to the characters which Myers would become famous for. From Austin Powers style mannerisms through to Fat Bastard's heavy Scottish accent and his fascination with the word "Evil" it's all there just in another guise to what we are now familiar with. With that aside we have what should be a dark comedy about a woman who marries and then kills her husband before the honeymoon is out but Myer's very upfront style of comedy does not make the most of the storyline causing "So I Married an Axe Murderer" to be the average movie it turns out to be.

Charlie (Mike Myers - Austin Powers) is a bit of a poet who seems to have little luck with women as when it starts to get serious he finds a way to get out. But that all changes when he meets butcher Harriett (Nancy Travis - Chaplin) as he grows very fond of her except he remembers reading about a woman who marries and kills her new husbands on the honeymoon before then vanishing and certain things about Harriett match the story of this black widow woman causing Charlie to panic.

Mike Myers and Nancy Travis in So I Married an Axe Murderer

Despite being seriously unoriginal I actually like the storyline to "So I Married an Axe Murderer" with Charlie finding himself dating this beautiful woman but begins to question whether she is in fact a serial murderer who kills shortly after she marries. It is your basic Black Widow style storyline where all the clues lead us and Charlie to think that Harriet could be a killer. And to be honest any attempt to add a twist are pretty much wasted because it is very obvious who the killer is the minute we meet them. But then "So I Married an Axe Murderer" was never about being a thriller but all about the comedy.

Now on one hand the comedy on show in "So I Married an Axe Murderer" is disappointing because with the black widow style storyline you expect plenty of dark humour. Well you may expect it but you certainly don't get it as Myers fills the movie with what could now be considered his trademark humour. We have Myers as Charlie saying "helloooo" loudly whilst interrupting someone, mugging to the camera and some Austin Powers type moves. And then we have Myers also playing Charlie's father who is a proud and heavy accented Scot whose descriptive powers are exactly that of Fat Bastard. Of course "So I Married an Axe Murderer" came before "Austin Powers" and so back in 1993 it was a little more entertaining but a little less so when watched now. It's unfortunate to say but Myers style of over the top accents and gags, such as when he pretends to massage a cut of meat , just doesn't fit in with what feels like it should be a darkly funny movie.

It's also very obvious that having scored a success with "Wayne's World" Mike Myers was definitely the star of "So I Married an Axe Murderer" with everything revolving around him. Now in some ways that isn't a terrible thing but it does make the comedy very one sided with only Brenda Fricker really managing to rip a couple of scenes from him as his mum who finds his best mate Tony quite sexy. Aside from Fricker the rest of the cast which includes Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia, Amanda Plummer and Matt Doherty are there but only to support Myers in delivering his jokes.

There are some other quibbles a scene which sees Charlie and his best friend Tony visit Alcatraz to discuss Harriett seems utterly pointless except to allow the tour guide to tell a strangely dull joke and a small part for Alan Arkin as Tony's superior is just as daft and irrelevant. But then you have some wonderful shots of San Francisco and the wonderful Volkswagen Kharman Ghia convertible which dominates many a scene.

What this all boils down to is that "So I Married an Axe Murderer" is a fun movie and part of the fun is seeing the almost genesis of some of Myer's more famous characters. But it is also disappointing because with it being a black widow style comedy thriller the humour isn't dark enough and that is partly down to Myers brand of humour being anything but dark. It's still a fun movie to watch but not the darkly funny experience you may be expecting.


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