Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team

Last updated

Never Say Never Mind:
The Swedish Bikini Team
NeverSayNeverMind.jpg
Directed byBuzz Feitshans IV
Written byRon Bryan and B. Daniel Martinez
Starring John Rhys-Davies
Bruce Payne
William Hope
Release date
  • 2001 (2001)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryEngland
LanguageEnglish

Never Say Never Mind: The Swedish Bikini Team is a 2001 British film spoof starring Bruce Payne, John Rhys-Davies and Cecilie Bull. It was directed by Buzz Feitshans IV.

Contents

Plot

Evolution films described the film thus: 'In the tradition of James Bond and Austin Powers, comes a "Girl Power" action comedy "Never Say…Never Mind" featuring the Swedish Bikini Team (SBT). The SBT is composed of five stunningly beautiful, highly intelligent and adventurous women, although one of them meets an unfortunate death early in the film. On land, on the high seas and high in the sky, the SBT members do their best to repel the forces of evil. On their mission, they find themselves in London where, for their meritorious service to the free world, the Queen knights them as Dames.

Now, they must locate and erase a black market copy of the infamous Los Alamos hard drive. They must prevent INTERR, the nefarious international terrorist organization, and one of their key representatives, Hakim (John Rhys-Davies), from possessing the top secret schematics for high level nuclear triggering mechanisms and weapons system.

The SBT are trained in close quarters combat, improvised weapons and modern tactical warfare methods by the extremely secretive CSD, the Covert Situations Division of the Swedish Military. They're certified master divers and also qualified as a UDT, Underwater Demolition Team and have worked in conjunction with the British SAS, Special Airborne Service, and a United States Marine Recon team.

The mysterious Mr. Blue (Bruce Payne) is the founder and CEO of Blue, Ltd, a think-tank for NATO countries. He is a logistics expert who co-ordinates the SBT activities leasing them out to friendly governments and worthy private corporations on a case-by-case basis. They get involved in both government and high-level corporate intrigue.

In a combination of beauty, brains and bravery, the SBT come together in a spectacular display of what girl power is really all about. Their high-tech gizmos and combat techniques are enough to give even James Bond a run for his money'. [1]

Cast

Reception

One reviewer stated that the film was 'enormous fun and full of Bondian touches, a must-see. [2] The Daily Telegraph described the film as a "cross between Austin Powers, Charlie's Angels and James Bond". [3]

Related Research Articles

John Rhys-Davies Welsh actor

John Rhys-Davies is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the Indiana Jones movies and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 TV series The Untouchables, Vasco Rodrigues in the mini-series Shōgun, Professor Maximillian Arturo in Sliders, King Richard I in Robin of Sherwood, General Leonid Pushkin in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, and Macro in I, Claudius. In voice acting, he portrayed Treebeard in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Cassim in Aladdin and the King of Thieves, Ranjan's father in The Jungle Book 2, Macbeth in Gargoyles, Man Ray in SpongeBob SquarePants, Hades in Justice League, and Tobias in Freelancer.

Bond girl Female character who is a love interest and/or female sidekick of James Bond

A Bond girl is a character who is a love interest or female companion of James Bond in a novel, film or video game. Bond girls occasionally have names that are double entendres or puns, such as Pussy Galore, Plenty O'Toole, Xenia Onatopp, or Holly Goodhead.

Ursula Andress Swiss actress

Ursula Andress is a Swiss actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, Dr. No (1962). She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 Bond parody Casino Royale. Other credits include Fun in Acapulco (1963), 4 for Texas (1963), She (1965), The 10th Victim (1965), The Blue Max (1966), The Southern Star (1969), Perfect Friday (1970), Red Sun (1971), The Sensuous Nurse (1975), Slave of the Cannibal God (1978), The Fifth Musketeer (1979), Clash of the Titans (1981) and Peter the Great (1986).

<i>Never Say Never Again</i> 1983 James Bond film directed by Irvin Kershner

Never Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film directed by Irvin Kershner. The film is based on the 1961 James Bond novel Thunderball by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original story by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, and Fleming. The novel had been previously adapted in a 1965 film of the same name. Never Say Never Again was not produced by Eon Productions, the usual producer of the Bond series, but by Jack Schwartzman's Taliafilm, and was distributed by Warner Bros. instead of United Artists. The film was executive produced by Kevin McClory, one of the original writers of the Thunderball storyline. McClory retained the filming rights of the novel following a long legal battle dating from the 1960s.

Jeffery Deaver American mystery and crime writer

Jeffery Deaver is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He later practiced law before embarking on a career as a novelist. He has been awarded the Steel Dagger and Short Story Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association and the Nero Wolfe Award, and he is a three-time recipient of the Ellery Queen Reader's Award for Best Short Story of the Year and a winner of the British Thumping Good Read Award. His novels have appeared on bestseller lists around the world, including The New York Times, The Times, Italy's Corriere della Sera, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Los Angeles Times.

The Swedish Bikini Team was a group of American female models who appeared in an advertising campaign for Old Milwaukee beer. These commercials ran for several months in 1991 in the United States, playing with American stereotypes of Scandinavian women being blonde and having big breasts. The premise of the commercials was that a group of bored or thirsty men were "saved" by the Swedish Bikini Team. Other commercials would focus on a group of men male bonding on a hunting trip and saying "Guys, it does not get any better than this", to which a narrator would say the man was wrong and an Old Milwaukee truck would drive miles off road toward them claiming "it improved", "..and when the Swedish Bikini Team showed up, it got somewhat better."

<i>Dr. No</i> (film) 1962 James Bond film directed by Terence Young

Dr. No is a 1962 spy film directed by Terence Young. It is based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. Starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, and Jack Lord, it is the first film in the James Bond series, and was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that continued until 1975. It was followed by From Russia With Love in 1963.

Austin Powers is a series of American spy action comedy films: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002). The films were produced and written by Mike Myers, who also starred as the title character and Dr. Evil. They were directed by Jay Roach and distributed by New Line Cinema.

<i>Britannic</i> (film) TV Spy Film

Britannic is a 2000 spy television film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith. The film is a fictional account of the sinking of the ship of the same name off the Greek island of Kea in November 1916; it features a German agent sabotaging her while she is serving as a hospital ship for the British Army during World War I. It stars Edward Atterton and Amanda Ryan, with Jacqueline Bisset, Ben Daniels, John Rhys-Davies, and Bruce Payne as costars. It first premiered on cable network Fox Family and was then broadcast in the United Kingdom on Channel 4.

bolexbrothers was an independent British animation studio founded by Dave Borthwick and Dave Alex Riddett in Bristol, UK. The studio specialised in stop motion and pixilation animation, producing numerous short films and commercials, as well as two feature films, The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993) and The Magic Roundabout, (2005). The studio was named after the Bolex brand of 16mm cameras once popular with animators and was first established as a collective of artists in the 1980s before becoming a company in 1991 and running to roughly 2008.

Eurospy film Genre of spy films

Eurospy film, or Spaghetti spy film, is a genre of spy films produced in Europe, especially in Italy, France, and Spain, that either sincerely imitated or else parodied the British James Bond spy series feature films. The first wave of Eurospy films were released in 1964, two years after the first James Bond film, Dr. No, and in the same year as the premiere of what many consider to be the apotheosis of the Bond series, Goldfinger. For the most part, the Eurospy craze lasted until around 1967 or 1968. In Italy, where most of these films were produced, this trend replaced the declining sword and sandal genre.

Bikini in popular culture

The modern bikini first appeared in 1946, and since then it has become a part of popular culture. It is one of the most widely worn women's swimsuits, used for swimming and in a variety of other contexts. Today, bikinis appear in competitions, films, magazines, music, literature, and video games. Despite the availability of more revealing glamour wear, bikini modeling remains popular and can still create controversy. Portrayals of the bikini in popular culture led, to a large extent, to its acceptance by Western society at large. In 1960, Brian Hyland's pop song "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" inspired a bikini-buying spree. The white bikini worn by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr. No has been cited as one of the most famous bikinis of all time. By 1963, the movie Beach Party, starring Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon, led a wave of films that made the bikini a pop-culture symbol. Playboy first featured a bikini on its cover in 1962. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue debuted two years later. This increasing popularity was reinforced by its appearance in such contemporary films as How to Stuff a Wild Bikini featuring Annette Funicello and One Million Years B.C. (1966) featuring Raquel Welch. Raquel Welch's fur bikini in One Million Years B.C. became a famous moment in cinema history. Hollywood stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Gina Lollobrigida and Jane Russell further helped the growing popularity of bikinis. Pin up posters of Monroe and Mansfield, as well as Hayworth, Bardot and Raquel Welch distributed around the world contributed significantly to the popularity of the bikini.

Dr. Evil Fictional antagonist of Austin Powers, a series of spy comedy films

Douglas Powers, commonly known as Dr. Evil, is a fictional character portrayed by Mike Myers in the Austin Powers film series. He is the main antagonist and Austin Powers' nemesis. He is a parody of James Bond villains, primarily Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Dr. Evil routinely hatches schemes to terrorize and take over the world, and is usually accompanied by "Number Two", a goon who fronts his evil corporation Virtucon Industries, his cat Mr. Bigglesworth and his sidekick Mini-Me, a dwarf clone of himself.

History of the bikini Aspect of history

Evidence of bikini-style women's clothing has been found as early as 5600 BC, and the history of the bikini can be traced back to that era. Illustrations of women wearing bikini-like garments during competitive athletic events in the Roman era have been found in several locations, the most famous of which is at Villa Romana del Casale.

<i>The Ernest Tubb Story</i> 1959 compilation album by Ernest Tubb

The Ernest Tubb Story is an album by American country singer Ernest Tubb, released in 1959. It was originally released as a double-LP album.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to James Bond:

<i>Brians Song</i> (2001 film) 2001 television film

Brian's Song is the 2001 remake of the 1971 television film Brian's Song, telling the story of Brian Piccolo, a white running back who meets, clashes with and befriends fellow Chicago Bears running back Gale Sayers. The movie was adapted from Sayers' own words in his 1970 autobiography, I am Third. The television movie, produced by Columbia TriStar Television, was first broadcast in the US on The Wonderful World of Disney on ABC.

White bikini of Ursula Andress Bathing suit worn by Ursula Andress in the 1962 James Bond film, Dr. No

The white bikini worn by Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film, Dr. No., is cited as the most famous bikini of all time and an iconic moment in cinematic and fashion history.

<i>X+Y</i> 2014 film directed by Morgan Matthews

X+Y, released in the US as A Brilliant Young Mind, is a 2014 British drama film directed by Morgan Matthews and starring Asa Butterfield, Rafe Spall and Sally Hawkins.

References

  1. Evolution Films. 2 April 2001
  2. 'http://www.ianfleming.org/007news/articles3/cannes2001b.shtml Archived 17 April 2002 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Reynolds, Nigel (3 February 2001). "Saturday Premiere". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 May 2011.