So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993)

After numerous breakups over what his friends and family consider shallow and a way to avoid commitment, the hard-to-please aspiring poet Mike Myers finally finds himself the perfect match in Nancy Travis... there's only one flaw... she might be an axe murderer! Very Mike Myers humor with lots of buddy comedians in supporting roles or cameos, all taking place in a so-very-'90s San Francisco—this film only works because all the pieces fall into the right place. Surprisingly light-hearted given its title, only getting dark in the third act. Killer (pun?) soundtrack. Travis actually cut off the tip of her finger during a scene at the butcher shop.★★★ (out of four)

The only reasons to watch this film are:(a) you are a Mike Myers scholar, and you need to learn the origin of some of his most oft-repeated character lines in his boffo, bonzo (totally hilarious) Scottish idiom; or(b) you are a Mike Myers scholar, and you need an exhibit illustrating your to-be-published thesis on how Mike Myers cannot act a romantic lead role (this would be exhibit A, his inability to create even one spark with Tia Carrere in Wayne's World is your Exhibit B). So I Married . . . has so much promise at the start. Gorgeous, looping, looming, sweeping shots of San Francisco at night, a rollicking soundtrack opener--the jangly, infectious indie pop song the LA's "There She Goes"--and a funny opening line from Myers about a latte the size of a pizza. What a film this might be, the viewer thinks.But no. Despite a couple rip-roaringly funny character scenes, with Myers playing his own, cartoonishly Scottish, father, some funny bits about a butcher's shop, and very good work by Anthony LaPaglia in a supporting role, the film more or less flops. The funny sequences are fleeting, and they get buried by other scenes where Myers is supposed to be, in turns, dashing, or lusty, or trapped like a winking, assured Cary Grant in the midst of an unfolding whodunit. And in those other scenes, and there are lots of them, Myers doesn't deliver, he does not sell himself or the story with his acting. Myers scholars, this film is for you. All others, let an SNL nerd do the Scottish thing in homage and you'll have seen the movie.

In San Francisco, Charlie reads poetry at a place where the 90s version of hippies or beatniks hang out. His friend Tony works as an undercover cop. His very Scottish father Stuart is a butcher, and his mother May loves the tabloid Weekly World News. Charlie sees a butcher shop that has meats from all over the world. He goes there to buy haggis for his father and meets the cute Harriet who runs the place. Because he has worked for his father and Harriet needs the help, Charlie goes to work there on one of his visits. Eventually Charlie and Harriet start dating. Charlie also meets Harriet's quirky sister Rose. But Charlie finds too many similarities between Harriet and a serial killer his mother is reading about in the tabloids. Meanwhile, Tony doesn't feel satisfaction in his job. He doesn't get yelled at like TV cops do.So will things work out between Charlie and Harriet? I think the movie's title gives it away, but will she really turn out to be a killer?Mike Myers does a fine job as Charlie and is delightfully over-the-top as his father. Nancy Travis is so likable I wish she had done more of these movies. Amanda Plummer is cute in a slightly mentally ill sort of way.Numerous supporting players, some with only a few lines, give wonderful performances. Alan Arkin and Anthony LaPaglia have one particularly memorable scene as Tony finally gets what he wants--though will he regret it? Charles Grodin is great as the driver of a car forced to pick up a hitchhiker on official police business. And Phil Hartman is as stiff as a "Dragnet" cop and as funny as the cast of "Airplane!" as a former Alcatraz guard giving tours of the former prison.This is a wonderfully funny movie with an exciting ending.

The leading actor has had huge success with characters Wayne Campbell, Austin Powers and Shrek, but this isn't really one of his remembered films, apart from the catchy title. Basically dedicated coffeehouse poet Charlie Mackenzie (Mike Myers) often bases his material on the numerous failed relationships he has had with women, all ending with doing something weird or high paranoia. His Scottish parents, mother May (Brenda Fricker) and father Stuart (also Myers, putting on his Fat Bastard voice), may criticise him for his wrong-doings, but he may have found the perfect girl to end the comments. Meat butcher with a heart of gold Harriet Michaels (Three Men and a Baby's Nancy Travis), and they start going out with hardly any concerns at all. Reports in the newspapers about some murders of newlywed men in the area, and habits of his new girlfriend, get Charlie back in the state of paranoia, and he is not sure he can fully trust his new love. Eventually he settles down and finds it in himself to ask Harriet to marry him, and they do so with no problems, but of course then the murders have some evidence that could indeed have her as the killer. In the end, after so many occurrences that make him, and you the audience, believe she is this axe murderer, it turns out to be her sister Rose (Pulp Fiction's Amanda Plummer), and Charlie is happy to go on as normal, if possible. Also starring Anthony LaPaglia as Tony Giardino, Matt Doherty as Heed, The Great Muppet Caper's Charles Grodin as Commandeered Driver, Phil Hartman as Ranger John 'Vicky' Johnson - Alcatraz Guide, Steven Wright as Pilot and Inspector Gadget's Michael G. Hagerty as Obituary Writer. Myers is alright as the vulnerable loser with amusingly crap poems, I laughed probably more when he was in his other guise, and Travis is okay as the very suspicious girlfriend, the script does have some witty moments to keep you on tenterhooks about the situation, but it's not the funniest film, a slightly silly comedy. Okay!