Why Did Mike Myers’ Career Go Down The Shitter?

he's an asshole you can smell from the screen

Pompous ass. He let his ego get in front of his talent.

I think first and foremost, mainstream comedy changed and it hurt Mike Meyers and Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy. People liked “Knocked Up” and “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” and weren’t interested in 90’s-esque bullshit like “The Love Guru”, which destroyed his career.

I’ve never seen “The Love Guru” but I’ve heard it was a truly terrible film that just exposed everything awful abort him.

A series of awful bombs + enough Shrek $$ rolling in to make him not need to continually work.

Canadian humor has a sell by date.

Between the two of them, Dana Carvey was the more talented. No idea why Myers became HUGE and Carvey didn't. Probably has to do with personal priorities --- career vs personal life? Something like that?

What are the receipts on his assholedom?

Everyone says it, but no one shares the details.

Not funny

Self-loathing closet case couldn’t take the pressure of hiding in plain sight.

Carvey had many serious heart issues and operations to deal with that.

I see he used Renee Zwelliger’s plastic surgeon and asked for the ‘Joan Van Ark’

R6 Did you see what Dana Carvey had to offer with his films? What’s that movie about him being a Master of Disguise?

I agree with R3. I also think film comedy has the lifespan of fruitflies, in general. That whole wave of Judd Apatow/Seth Rogan/James Franco comedy that followed has (thankfully) dwindled as well.

Remember when Dane Cook was a leading man?

Maybe Dana Carvey was like Rick Moranis? Put relationships above fame?

[quote]Remember when Dane Cook was a leading man?

We're trying to forget.

I think Myers is talented and a very good comic actor.

It's said that "The Love Guru" as well as "The Cat in the Hat" were such colossal bombs his star imploded. There were reports of diva behavior on set but not egregious enough to destroy careers. Apparently a comeback is a-brewing.

"Netflix will host a miniseries written by Myers called The Pentaverate. He will - in typical Myers fashion - play at least six different characters in the comedy about what life would be like if a secret society has been working to influence world events for the greater good since the Black Plague.

He also an upcoming role in David O. Russell's very mysterious upcoming 2022 project, alongside a huge cast including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Rami Malek, Zoe Saldana, Robert De Niro, Anya Taylor Joy, Chris Rock and Taylor Swift."

Wow - it’s not like he was ever really handsome, but he has a face like a carved pumpkin now.

Dunno? He's a self absorbed asshole, so he should still be an A lister. Must be his atrocious face.

R13 Yes that whole Judd Apatow and Paul Feig comedy era killed comedies. There were no scripts any longer, they wrote scenarios and would let actors improvise. It stopped working.

But Mike Meyers sucked. I mean he only had Austin Powers and Shrek, what other movies did he do worth anything?

This was funny to Mike Meyers.

Someone on DL said they were in comedy and developed the Wayne character and Myers took it. Dana Carvey has also said that originally he did a Lorne Michaels impersonation and Myers used it to create Dr. Evil.

Yeah, Shrek and it's sequels -- which were in large part a success because of the changes Myer's asked for -- were huge bombs.

Wayne's World was huge back in the early 90s but if you watch it now it's garbage.

Because he is an insecure little shit.

Contrary Opinion: He had too much success too soon and couldn't keep replicating it.

The Austin Powers and Shrek movies were so popular that everything he did afterwards seemed like a bomb (And was.)

He wrote and created his own stuff so it was hard to plug him into someone else's scripts

It's rare to have one franchise become successful, let alone two.

He a bitch!

He came out and then quickly went back in the closet. Strange dude.

Ugly, unfunny, no talent.

Brilliantly talented, but if you've ever created anything and taken creative risks (and clearly no one on this thread has), you'd be well aware of how easy it is to stumble. I hope he can recover.

[quote]Wayne's World was huge back in the early 90s but if you watch it now it's garbage.

You must be joking. That film remains iconic and hilarious. It contains one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history.

He milked Austin Powers for all it was worth to the point it wasn’t funny anymore.

He needs to make Wayne’s World 3 and call it a day. If the craptastic Bill and Ted can get a third film, Wayne’s World can too. Myers works better in a duo.

Same reason Adam Sandler’s career went down the shitter. Both are one-note and you can only play the same character so many times.

I like Simon

Carvey far more talented but SNL only pays so much.

Myers thinks he's a Peter Sellers but he doesn't have an ounce of Sellers' talent.

I just have never found him that funny. He was the least funny of Carrey, Carvey, Sandler from the SNL days. And Carrey were the standouts. Sprockets was lame. I never thought Wayne’s World was all that except for Rob Lowe.

It's the one two punch. Myer's had two bombs in a row.

Myers

I watched Wayne’s World last year for the first time since it was released (so that would be 29 years as of last year), and while it was enjoyable to revisit it, I would be fine if I didn’t see it again for another 29 years.

Hilarious people saying he's unsuccessful and no talent. He took a nap on a huge pile of money. Got a divorce. Stretched. Yawned.

He was never a leading man but he's always been funny. I haven't watched The Pentaverate yet but I'm going to.

I've always thought he was cute.

R38 I've never seen it and I'm fine with that

He also didn’t balance his stupid comedies with dramas.

His peers like Carrey and Sandler and latter ones like Ferrell and Carell all made attempts at being respectable actors with dramas or black comedies that were favorable among critics. Sandler had “Punch Drunk Love”, Carrey had “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, Ferrell had “Stranger Than Fiction”, Carell had “Little Miss Sunshine”, among others for them. Even Eddie Murphy had the underrated “Bowfinger” which was a throwback to old school comedy and “Dreamgirls”.

They all proved they could be restrained. Meyers did not. Mike never did anything beyond paychecks for stupid character comedies. He gave a good performance in “Inglorious Basterds” as a cameo but it was too late.

r39 I think it's more the question of why he didn't become a bigger star rather than falling into a predictable niche.

it's like Adam Sandler does quite well with producing shit film after shit film.... but he had potential as a dramatic actor over low brow humour that most of us pretentious snobs don't find funny.

But there's a great many that come from comedic backgrounds that are capable of good, even superb, performances as serious actors but fall back on their schtick. Which seems like a waste of talent even if they're raking in cash.

He also didn’t balance his stupid comedies with dramas.

His peers like Carrey and Sandler and latter ones like Ferrell and Carell all made attempts at being respectable actors with dramas or black comedies that were favorable among critics. Sandler had “Punch Drunk Love”, Carrey had “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”, Ferrell had “Stranger Than Fiction”, Carell had “Little Miss Sunshine”, among others for them. Even Eddie Murphy had the underrated “Bowfinger” which was a throwback to old school comedy and “Dreamgirls”.

They all proved they could be restrained. Meyers did not. Mike never did anything beyond paychecks for stupid character comedies. He gave a good performance in “Inglorious Basterds” as a cameo but it was too late.

In addition to his health problems, Carvey suffers from a strange combination of big talent and small charisma. He should have had a fantastic career as a character actor but people kept trying to make him a star.

Myers is also very talented but his mugging is insufferable. Maybe a strong director could whip him into shape.

Mike and Jessica Alba filmed some shitty movie together in Canada and both of them are awful people. Just really, really AWFUL.

He used to make his assistant walk next to him and hold an umbrella over his head to keep the sun off of him. He used to scream at his assistant all the time. I think he might have been on drugs.

R40 You aren’t really missing much. It’s fine but nothing special.

"all made attempts at being respectable actors with dramas or black comedies that were favorable among critics"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA LOL I'm gasping, that's funnier than the comedies they were vomiting out at the time.

R47, I know you’re trying to suggest that your taste is so much more discerning than anyone else’s, but if you can’t acknowledge that Punch Drunk Love and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind received overwhelmingly favorable reviews both at the time and in retrospect — even if you don’t agree with the assessment of those films — you are completely, totally wrong in a way that suggests you’re either stupid or a liar.

Eternal Sunshine regularly places highly among the best films of the 2000s, and was acclaimed enough to win a Screenpkah Oscar. Punch Drunk Love has been reassessed among critics as one of PTA’s masterpieces (and I think that’s contrarian nonsense, but I won’t pretend that other people don’t feel that way). Among the other films mentioned, Little Miss Sunshine and Dreamgirls both won a few major Oscars, earned good to great reviews, and their reputations remain relatively intact today. Even the weakest of the movies mentioned, Stranger Than Fiction, got generally decent reviews for everyone involved.

Everything that R43 wrote was true, even if you personally disagree with how those films either were or are now assessed.

By all accounts Mike Myers seems to be a huge jerk and not a nice person to work with. But I will always have a soft spot for “Wayne’s World”, “So I Married an Axe Murderer” and “Austin Powers.”

The Pentaverate was a big miss but could have been great with some brutal editing. Conspiracy theories, Rupert Murdoch, social media etc. was spot on. Not so much the poop jokes.

R41 I think Meyers attempted to be a serious actor as Steve Rubell in 54, obviously that didn’t work out.

It’s too bad 54 was a such trainwreck because Myers is pretty good in it

Tawlk amongst yourselves!

He might of had a bigger career if he transitioned, his female characters were much more interesting.

I will always love him for this. But he is a prick.

Mike is fine. He sends his love.

Mike also wants you to know he has plenty of money, what with residuals from not one, not two, but three, count 'em, 3 highly successful movie franchises: Wayne's World, Austin Powers and Shrek.

Also, he said to make sure to tell of you haters to go fuck yourselves.

He's gay, right?

R55 could very well be Myers because yes R56, he is allegedly gay as BALLS.

I have never heard a nice word said about him professionally. Not one.

r49, you reminded me of So I Married an Axe Murderer. Love that movie - my favorite thing Myers has done.

Lest we forget, this guy was basically the king of Hollywood for many years. And those Shrek movies were gigantic.

No one here has called someone else “sphincter boy”. Wasn’t that a Wayne’s World “clever” insult? Sounds like Mikey has earned the title now.

You can only succeed by stealing other people’s work for so long.

R53 "He might of had a bigger career"

Oh, dear

I wouldn't worry too much. He's worth a fortune.

When he was on SNL, did he have a rep as an asshole then as well? Wondering if it was success coming to someone of humble origins (read: Rosanne) that made him dreadful.

Apparently his new Netflix comedy limited series is terrible.

It's interesting that a few people here like 'So I Married an Axe Murderer.' The only scene I remember from that movie is The Alcatraz scene, it's the best part of the movie and it has nothing to do with Mike Myers.

OP the answer is in your post. Just look at that face!

Adam Sandler got great reviews for Uncut Gems which was a drama

[quote] He came out and then quickly went back in the closet. Strange dude.

He does ping, IMO. Robert Downey Jr. also came out, went back in the closet, and is now straight.

Myers, still not convinced he's an asshole. What are people talking about? He stayed at a hotel where I used to work. I ran into him and he seemed OK. Someone from room service (coworker) apparently had an OK interaction with him.

R65 reminded me of what a treasure Phil Hartman was.

Why does he have no facial hair and why does he look so waxy?

and he has a new show. wonderful reverse pr, op.

[quote] Screenpkah Oscar.

R48, Klingon Oscars don’t count

omg. is that the latest pic of him in OP's post? He looks terrible

I think comedy has changed. Slapstick is no longer in vogue. People expect comedy to be more sophisticated these days. Austin Powers is great but it just wouldn’t get made today. My 5 year old bloody loves Cat In The Hat but it is truly awful. It makes my eyes bleed.

his knew show on netflix is a hoot and he plays many different characters a la peter sellers/eddie murphy. he's quite endearing as the bill gates looking washed up newscaster that says "balloon juice" every 5 seconds. 🤡😁🤪

How much plastic surgery has he had?!😳

That is not a straight man in OP’s pic.

R59, Yeah, Shrek was huge. As already mentioned a half dozen times in this short thread.

Carvey also could be a smug asshole, but I doubt he would have inflicted the fat Scotsman garbage on us. Meyers didn't know how to keep his grossout scenes brief and dragged out a lot of them to the point that they lost all the humor.

^ *Myers, I meant. My maternal grandma was a Meyers and I default to that spelling automatically.

Here's the article that outlines Myers historically shitty, entitled, egomaniacal behavior. But even before SNL, Myers had a rep at Second City in Chicago and Toronto...some alleging even then that he borrowed other people's characters. The Myers/Carvey beef on Wayne's World only intensified with the release of Austin Powers when Myers basically parlayed Carvey's impression of Lorne Michaels into Dr. Evil.

You have some Hollywood executives actually rooting for him to fail in this article. It's pretty damning. It came out around the time of the Love Guru, so I think people took special pride in dumping on him. I imagine he's mellowed in the intervening years and with fatherhood.

[quote] He came out and then quickly went back in the closet.

Where? When?

[quote] You can only succeed by stealing other people’s work for so long.

Uh oh, someone better tell Gaga...

R53 oh dear.

He might of had --- HAVE HAD --- a bigger career if he transitioned -- HAD TRANSITIONED. (comma splice removed) His female characters were much more interesting.

Wow, didn't realize he was so hated. I always enjoyed Mike Myers, and I'll always love those movies from my youth, plus his SNL stint. What a great time that was for the show. I had no clue about his professional reputation though. His fall off, my guess, is simply a change in the culture, and particularly comedy, that not every talent (no matter how great) can always evolve with. But I do miss that kind of comedy. Today, it would probably be seen as 'problematic', but whatever. As for comedy tastes being more sophisticated these days, I don't know about that. LOL! I think irony and irreverence are dead, and everything is so literal, thus most comedy just isn't funny anymore.

He singlehandedly destroyed the notion that Canadians are nicer than everyone else. He put out a lot of shit level comedy.

Also, he's funny sometimes. Do you know what I am saying?

[quote] Wow, didn't realize he was so hated.

The Op and most of the bitches here get pleasure from bitching.

Mike Myers is planning 'Austin Powers 4' and has a net worth of $200 million.

I didn’t realize how nasty Canadians were until I started watching some of their reality shows. It’s nastiness mixed with resentment and it’s actually quite interesting.

I liked Adam Sandler movies. I didn't watch many because they aren't my taste but I had a basic like for Sandler and his work, and the few I saw were harmless and funny. There is a lot of effective and good low brow culture and though I don't watch much, I don't need to hate it and think it sucks.

[quote]He came out and then quickly went back in the closet. Strange dude.

I'm glad somebody besides me remembers this, because I was beginning to think it was some Mandela Effect shit.

I distinctly remember him coming out after divorcing his wife Robin and was like, good for him! But then I never heard another word about it, so I assumed he was just living his gay life and no one was mentioning it. A check of his wikipedia page shows he remarried (to a woman) years ago and has a couple of kids now. So WTF?