1993, Clinton became President, X-Files hit the little screen (convincing us that the truth is out there), the students of Bay Side High finally graduated, and Mike Myers was actually still funny. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Shrek & Shrek 2, but aside from his part in Inglorious Bastards, it’s been a long while since Myers has been in anything live action that brought people into the theaters. It’s hard not to hold films like The Cat in the Hat & The Love Guru against him, but I think back to this little black comedy and remember that not all of his flicks were a wash.
Starring Mike Myers, Nancy Travis, Anthony LaPaglia & Amanda Plummer, So I Married an Axe Murderer is the story of commitment-phobic Charlie McKenzie, and his journey finding love while fearing for his life. Charlie, a professional poet living in San Francisco (cause that’s possible, right?), always finds a reason to break off relationships before they get too close to the ever dreaded ‘where is this relationship going’ discussion. From “She smelled like soup” to believing his unemployed-ex was a member of the Cosa Nostra, the girls in his life made great poetic fodder, but never bride material. That is until he meets Harriet (Travis), the “Hard-hearted harbinger of Haggis.”
She’s got it all, a cherubic face, razor wit and a mean way with a cleaver (being a Butcher by trade). Everything is going great until she says the word ‘forever’; suddenly comments like, “Well, brutal’s a very subjective word. I mean, what’s brutal to one person might be totally reasonable to somebody else.” take on a whole different context in his mind. After seeing an article about a maniacal black widow in the Weekly World News, Charlie is all but convinced that she butchers more than prime beef. With the help of his Hapless Cop best friend (LaPaglia), he uncovers Harriet’s sordid past, but could she really be a murderer?
There’s a reason nearly every line of the script is posted under the quotes section on IMDB, How I Married an Axe Murderer is darkly funny and chock full of memorable dialogue. Cameos by Phil Hartman, Steven Wright, Charles Grodin, and a rather large uncredited appearance by Alan Arkin, tip this flick into downright hilarious; if you, like me, have a little bit of a twisted sense of humor.
When I want to remember the carefree pre-recession era, and am looking for a good laugh, I throw on this Fiendish Flick and forget about impending disasters like Austin Powers 4. Ah, the days before we had to figure out how to fit a week’s worth of shampoo in a 3oz bottle, or just say screw it and fill it with 3 ounces of Quervo…those were the days.
Until we meet again, my devilish little deviants -Ruby
