Spy

My Grade:  A

I wouldn’t say I am a Melissa McCarthy fan, but I don’t dislike her either. I find her style of comedy mostly funny but obnoxious at times. That’s why I have a hard time dealing with her when she is forced to carry an entire movie (like the absolutely terrible Tammy). With a strong cast to back her up and carry some of the comedic load, though, McCarthy soars in the recent action/comedy Spy.

Spy takes a pretty boring premise and makes a fun movie out of it. Susan Cooper (McCarthy) is an analyst at the CIA with dreams of being something more. She doesn’t, however, have the charisma, confidence, or really anything else that would make you think she was capable of being a field operative. But, when a deadly arms dealer discovers the identity of all of the CIA’s field operatives (which happens in multiple James Bond movies, Mission Impossible, and pretty much every other piece of spy genre entertainment), the unknown Cooper volunteers to step up and save the day. And, it turns out she is actually very good at it. 

The reason this story works is because of the interplay between all the characters. Cooper is in love with Agent Bradley Fine (a hilarious Jude Law) but he just sees her as his buddy. She is also bullied by hardcore, foul-mouthed Agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham) in some of the funniest exchanges in the entire film, but he turns out to pretty much be all talk. And when Cooper makes contact with the violent, stuck-up arms dealer with a huge sense of entitlement, Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), their relationship has a great arc that constantly changes and keeps you guessing. These relationships are mined expertly for every ounce of comedy by writer/director Paul Feig who delivers his best film to date with Spy.

As the film presses on, the story grows quite a bit more ridiculous with each passing scene; but that’s okay because it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it serves as a wink at the spy genre in general. It also throws some decent twists at you. While some of them may be a bit of a stretch at times, they work well enough and don’t distract you from the rest of the story.

The biggest disappointment in this film is Miranda Hart as Nancy, Cooper’s co-worker and friend. Most of her jokes didn’t land for me and she annoyed me in most of her scenes. To counteract that disappointment, there is the biggest surprise of the film:  Jason Statham’s comedy chops. He is hysterical. He tells these ridiculous stories of his past experiences as a field operative and his delivery is outstanding. He basically spoofs every character he has ever played and I could watch it all day. Also, Rose Byrne is perfect. Simply perfect in this role.

Overall, Spy is surprisingly good. It’s Melissa McCarthy’s best film to date and shows that Paul Feig has taken huge strides in his writing/directing prowess since Bridesmaids (which everyone seemed to like except me) and The Heat (which I liked but it wasn’t a great movie by any stretch of the imagination). The strong supporting cast allows us to get just enough Melissa McCarthy and serves up a solid spy spoof with some heart.