Lionsgate
Over the years, I have grown to appreciate Kate McKinnon’s style of humor. From seeing her on SNL to the Ghostbusters reboot, her quirkiness and dry sense of humor has always pleased me throughout the years. Her SNL skit alongside Ryan Gosling a few years ago left in me in tears. Mila Kunis on the other hand, isn’t so funny. I enjoyed her on That 70’s Show when she was younger, but I haven’t enjoyed some of her previous comedy movies such as Bad Moms Christmas or even Jupiter Ascending. I was surprised to hear that Kate McKinnon and Mila Kunis would be teaming up for a spy comedy. It seemed like an odd pairing, but I was still eager to see it mainly for Kate McKinnon.
Mila Kunis plays Audrey, who is celebrating her birthday with her best friend Morgan, played by Kate McKinnon. It has been a while since she was dumped by her boyfriend Drew, played by Justin Theroux. After a night of celebration, Audrey and Morgan decide to burn Drew’s belonging, but Drew reaches out to Audrey just as she starts burning his things. The next day, Audrey learns that Drew is a spy and he returns home to obtain one of his personal items, which if in the wrong hands, can bring chaos to the world. People are after the item, which leads to Drew’s death and Audrey and Morgan travel to Australia and Europe to deliver it to the right people. Along the way, many assassins and CIA members try to hunt them for the object.
One thing that surprised me about The Spy Who Dumped Me is the chemistry between Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. The comedy and interactions between them two felt genuine and comfortable. They played off each other nicely and it led to some humorous moments in the movie. Kate McKinnon was the standout in the film, as most of her jokes feel improvised. Watching McKinnon’s scenes, it seems that she came up with a lot of her lines on the spot, but it works. Kunis isn’t particularly funny by herself but is funny when she is around McKinnon. There is a pretty funny scene involving McKinnon and Edward Snowden (not the real Snowden) that caught me by surprise.
I thought The Spy Who Dumped Me would focus mainly on comedy and the action scenes would be average, but to my surprise, they were filmed well. The movie opened with an impressive action scene and from there on, the shoot outs and car chases were helmed by someone who knew what they were doing. I also found the spy elements to be unexpected. There were enough twists and turns to keep my interest level steady. Justin Theroux played the ex-boyfriend of Audrey and he provides a lot of action scenes in the beginning of the film, which focuses on him running from some bad guys. It’s a bit generic but for a comedy movie, it was a standout scene.
The pair of friends travel to many different places such as Vienna and Amsterdam, which makes the movie feel quick. The pair hardly spends a significant amount of time in one location. The two are always traveling to try and meet up with someone or deliver an object somewhere. This is one of the flaws in the film as the pacing is fast and the locations the women are at don’t feel important.
I was surprised by The Spy Who Dumped Me. I wasn’t expecting the action and spy scenes to be so well filmed and the comedy moments shined. Mila Kunis isn’t particularly funny in this movie, but Kate McKinnon brings out some comedic moments from her. The movie feels a little like Spy with Melissa McCarthy, so if you enjoyed that, then you would like The Spy Who Dumped Me.
The Spy Who Dumped Me has a run time of 1 hour 56 minutes and is rated R for violence, language throughout, some crude sexual material and graphic nudity.
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