Twentieth Century Fox
I’ve been a fan of Melissa McCarthy since she stole the show in Bridesmaids and gave us a variety of characters to laugh at during her first hosting stint on Saturday Night Live (I have never watched Mike & Molly). Since then, however, she seems to be stuck in a rut playing the same slovenly, unappealing, annoying, sometimes repulsive character in film after film (usually written by her and her husband Ben Falcone). She tried to bring a little redemption to that character by letting it grow a bit in Tammy, but it was a little too late. Audiences seemed to tire of that persona and wanted something more from McCarthy.
Well, McCarthy has teamed up with her Bridesmaids director, Paul Feig, for the new spy movie spoof Spy … and I’m happy to say this partnership has produced another round of comedy gold. McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, an FBI agent (in name only) who works in The Basement acting as the eyes and ears for her assigned field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law). When Fine goes missing in action while tracking a suspect (Rose Byrne) who is attempting to sell a portable nuclear weapon to the highest bidder — who also knows the names of all of the agency’s top spys — Cooper (who has a serious crush on Fine) volunteers to go undercover to locate the suspect, Rayna Boyanov. Her mission is only to track and locate but the constant interference of rogue agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) forces Cooper to engage Boyanov as an attempt is made on her life. Cooper has to think fast on her feet to stay in Boyanov’s good graces and not blow the mission, while trying to keep Ford from blowing everyone’s cover.
It sounds like a classic Bond scenario, and the movie plays with the Bond formula right down to the terrific opening credits with silhouettes and a Shirley Bassey-styled theme song that comes after an opening prologue. Feig, who also wrote the script, manages to deftly combine all of the classic spy movie tropes with the best comedy bits so that nothing ever feels off kilter. It’s not an Airplane! type of spoof. The comedy comes naturally out of the situations. Sometimes it’s a bit over-the-top (such as the background action in The Basement after an infestation of vermin), but the laughs are never cheap ones, and even the simplest line of dialog, like Allison Janney’s “We almost put it on YouTube” made the audience guffaw (and the video she is referring to is absolutely hysterical). Even Rose Byrne, who doesn’t have the most comedic lines makes them hilarious with her deadpan delivery, especially when she’s saying the most awful things to Susan.
Besides Law, Byrne and Janney, McCarthy has two other outstanding co-stars. Jason Statham is spot-on perfect as the rogue agent who just can’t fathom someone who looks like Susan being a secret agent. Statham deftly pokes fun at just about every action hero type he’s played throughout his career, boldly boasting about the things he’s done during his secret agent career (one of his boasts is reattaching his ripped off left arm by himself with only his good right arm). His increasingly bizarre rants elicit beautiful reactions from McCarthy and major laughs from the audience. It’s nice to see an actor willing to poke so much fun at his own screen persona. Another shining star is Brit Miranda Hart, best known to US audiences for her role on BBC’s Call the Midwife. Hart is the tall, gawky, excitable but nervous co-worker of Susan who is put into the field when the agency loses track of both Susan and Ford. She has a winning demeanor and can play baffled and courageous, able to take matters into her own hands when necessary even when she has no idea she has the capability. Hart gives terrific support to McCarthy (sort of a Laurel to McCarthy’s Hardy) and this movie should get American audiences to really take notice of her.
Twentieth Century Fox
Of course, the film belongs to McCarthy who has broken out of her usual character with the help of Feig. Her Susan is a shy, lonely woman who has a crush on her co-worker and is fully aware of her body image but doesn’t give a crap what other people think and takes exception with the various “types” the CIA sticks her with when undercover (like “cat lady”). But Susan exceeds everyone’s expectations because she has enough self-confidence to not let those expectations define who she is. Susan, in fact, has more moves than many other agents and can hold her own in hand-to-hand combat … which she does several times. Watching Susan take down an attacker really makes the audience cheer, and we all eventually forget about her size just as she has already done. The whole joke of the film is that this large woman shouldn’t be capable of doing anything but sitting at a desk, but once we get past that initial set-up, we take umbrage and any derogatory comments towards Susan just as she does. In the past, McCarthy’s characters have been somewhat repugnant so that it was hard for audiences to do anything but laugh AT them, but this time we’re fully engaged and on her side, laughing WITH her in the face of all the naysayers. I would say this is McCarthy’s best work since The Heat (which was also directed by Feig), and it’s really an empowering moment for her.
Spy is Melissa McCarthy’s best work since The Heat. tweet
I wasn’t expecting much going in to Spy, but coming out I have to say it’s one of the funniest comedies, that made me laugh out loud, that I’ve seen in a long time. (My only quibble being the dubious casting of American actors in roles that should have been filled by natives, such as the hostess at the casino in Rome. I sincerely doubt you’d find a blonde American woman in such a position.) If you need some decidedly R-rated humor peppered with some spy movie action (almost akin to Kingsman: The Secret Service), don’t hesitate to check out Spy, and be sure to stay for a brief post-credit scene that turns into a humorous blooper.
Spy has a run time of 2 hours, and is rated R for language throughout, violence, and some sexual content including brief graphic nudity.
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