Mike Myers plays Charlie Mackenzie, a San Francisco poet who is having a hard time finding the right woman. His friend, Tony (Anthony LaPaglia), an undercover cop, says Charlie simply finds excuses to get rid of the women he meets because he’s afraid of making a commitment. Charlie’s world gets turned upside down when he meets Harriet (Nancy Travis), a butcher, while buying some haggis for his Scottish parents.
Charlie’s father (also played by Myers) is a lovably harsh lug who watches soccer games while drinking Scottish ale and hurling insults at Charlie’s younger brother. Charlie’s mother (Brenda Fricker) reads The Weekly World News, a tabloid known for such stories as “Bat Boy Found on Island” and “I Married Bigfoot.” When she comes across a story about an axe-murdering woman who kills her new husbands on their honeymoon, Charlie laughs at it and tells her to read a paper that contains real stories based on facts.
Charlie and Harriet start seeing each other regularly and, eventually, go to visit Charlie’s parents. While there, Charlie comes across the tabloid story again and draws some horrifying conclusions about Harriet. She seems to match all of the descriptions regarding the axe murdering wife. Is she or isn’t she?
Myers’ portrayal of the elder Mackenzie is some of the best work he’s done on-screen. His relentless attacks on his own son’s large head are brutally funny. An uncredited Alan Arkin is pleasantly cast as Tony’s boss. Cameos by the late Phil Hartman, Charles Grodin and Stephen Wright make for some great moments too. So, why is this film not a great comedy? Well, it mainly has to do with the plot. The “is she or isn’t she the killer” plot line seems too inane for characters that seem to be fairly intelligent people. It’s a combination that is deadly to a film, especially a comedy. If the characters seem too smart to perform as stupidly as the script requires, it’s frustrating to watch them and that’s exactly what happens in this film.
The overall mood of So I Married an Axe Murderer isn’t bad and the performances are solid all around but it’s just a shame that the movie’s plot couldn’t match the quality of the cast it had to work with. Although Myers is better known for his work in Wayne’s World and Austin Powers — both superior films — this movie is still worth a look if you liked him in those movies.
3.0 out of 5.0 stars
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