I was watching a telecast of Austin Powers in Goldmember the other day (it's repeated again tonight, at 9:40 p.m. ET on Encore), and was surprised, when doing my habitual practice of closely reading the final credits, to see a name that was not familiar to me when the film was released in 2002, but is much more familiar now: Carrie Ann Inaba, one of the judges on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.
That surprised me. And since I hadn't recognized her, the name she played in this particular Mike Myers spy spoof surprised me even more...
She plays one of two Japanese schoolgirls -- giggly twins who offer themselves to Myers' shagadelic Austin Powers.
A lot of jokes are made regarding Austin's misunderstanding of their names, as finally explained when spelled out on their backbacks.
One twin, played by Diane Mizota, is named Fook Mi. The other, played by Inaba, is named Fook Yu.
ABC's Dancing with the Stars didn't start until 2005, three years later, so this playful appearance is an earlier credit. And when judging performers on her prime-time dance competition series, Inaba exudes both professionalism and compassion. There's nothing to be embarrassed about here, either, as the Austin Powers movie are a very popular mainstream franchise.
But still -- let a few pictures tell the story:
Fook Mi offers Austin Powers a drink, and goes off to get him a beer from the bar. He's surprised when she seems to returns so quickly ("Fook Mi, that was fast!"), but when the real Fook Mi returns, he realizes his mistake. They're twins, and Fook Mi tries to properly introduces her sister to Austin.
When Austin fails to understand, Fook Mi wheels her sister around, so Austin can read the name on her backpack: Fook Yu.
Then Fook Mi wheels around to reveal her own personalized backpack to Austin as well. And there they are, clearly identified: the Fook twins, Mi and Yu.
At that point, they all adjourn to Austin's bachelor pad and decked-out bedroom, where Yu, Mi and Austin all climb on the bed.
The girls begin cooing and fondling Austin -- but their revels are interrupted just as they begin, as Austin is dispatched on a new mission.
I'm not sure how Carrie Ann Inaba would grade her own performance here. But since, on Dancing, she uses a scale from 1 to 10, I think the double-digit designation is the only truly appropriate one.
Carrie Ann Inaba -- 10!