So I Married an Axe Murderer

The crass Scots jokes are irresistible; Alan Arkin's cameo as a mild-mannered police chief is sheer perfection; and the cultish references to Beat poetry should please slumming hipsters. Like an exploding haggis, funny but extremely messy. Read full review

As an evening’s rental, it provides an embarrassment of silly riches. Travis is unstoppably charming, and well-integrated comic cameos by Alan Arkin, Phil Hartman, and Steven Wright keep things chugging. Read full review

So I Married an Axe Murderer may have to dodge some angry Scotsmen but otherwise should click with those looking for slightly upscale humor that’s not averse to a few well-placed cheap shots. It’s a delightful and unexpected surprise. Read full review

Not everyone has realized this yet, but with Wayne's World and So I Married an Axe Murderer, Mike Myers has somehow become the first major movie star of the '90s. [30 July 1993]

The buzz was negative on So I Married an Axe Murderer, but the buzz was wrong. Mike Myers' new comedy isn't quite as fresh and bubbly and goofy as "Wayne's World," but it's hip, lively fun, with only a slight bit of sag. [30 July 1993, p.29]

Just when it seems like Axe Murderer is headed to the gas chamber reserved for bad comedies, something amazing happens: It gets funny. [30 July 1993, p.AE15]

Director Thomas Schlamme ("Miss Firecracker," "Crazy From the Heart") also does a better than average job of evoking the romance of his San Francisco locations; giving his mystery-comedy a Hitchcockian "feel"; and getting likable performances from Brenda Fricker as Charlie's mother, Anthony LaPaglia as his cop best-friend, and Nancy Travis as the maybe-murderess. [30 July 1993]

This is a comedy far funnier in its throwaway asides and extraneous bits. [30 July 1993, p.5D]

"Axe Murderer" resembles a dozen other films, yet it has its one charm - Myers himself, who sometimes borders on being adorable but is smart enough never to sink the viewer in gooey sweetness. Read full review

It comes as a welcome surprise that "So I Married an Axe Murderer," which might have been nothing more than a by-the-numbers star vehicle, surrounds Mr. Myers with amusing cameos and gives him a chance to do more than just coast. Read full review

At the end of the day, the movie works. It's funny, it's charming, it's sweet – all elements that make it a more accessible comedy than Meyers' later work, which is generally aimed to a more specific audience. It's certainly worth rewatching and holds up well to retrospect, and while it might not be the laugh-a-minute spoof that was the original Austin Powers, it's an amusing – and at times hilarious – look back at the beginning of one comedian's superstar career. Read full review

So I Married an Axe Murderer is a mediocre movie with a good one trapped inside, wildly signaling to be set free. The good movie involves a droll and eccentric Scottish-American family whose household embraces more of the trappings of Scottishness than your average Glasgow souvenir shop. The bad movie is about a young man's romance with a woman he comes to suspect is an ax murderer. Read full review

Dopey but rather sweet. [30 July 1993, p.C1]

If nothing else, this offbeat comedy delivers a handful of satisfying laughs and proves that four-year "Saturday Night Live" veteran Mike Myers can safely escape his "Wayne's World" alter ego. [30 July 1993, p.D12]