McCarthy...Melissa McCarthy

Spy

There have been many genres mixing over the years in the world of cinema and none more successful has the action-comedy or the buddy comedy. I guess people are getting the best of both worlds, when the film works well of course like in the case of Bad Boys or even more recently 21 Jump Street. I love these movies, but lately I haven’t really enjoyed the comedy genre of late. I just feel that we as a society don’t find things funny anymore unless it is in your face raunchy humor. Not saying that this is all comedies, but what happened to comedies like The Pink Panther (1963 version, not that Steve Martin piece of garbage) or maybe the Monty Python (I know some of their stuff was raunchy, but not all of it). So when I came across the movie I am about to review, I was skeptical but I decided to give it a shot (see what I did there?).

Spy is an action-comedy that centers on CIA analyst Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy Bridesmaids). ‘Coop’ is the eyes and ears for super-spy Bradley Fine (Jude Law Sherlock Holmes). Fine is on the hunt for a nuclear bomb which leads him to the home of the deadly Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne X-Men: First Class). Sadly for Fine, his spy career comes to an end with a warning from Rayna that she has the identities of all active CIA field agents and will detonate the bomb if she comes into contact with any of said agents. Feeling responsible for Fine’s death, Susan decides to volunteer to go into the field and finish what Fine started. Met with a little resistance, Deputy Director Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney Bad Words) finally agrees and sends Susan on the trail to find Rayna.

Well, this was a breath of fresh air. I really didn’t expect to enjoy this movie, but I did. Maybe it is director/writer Paul Feig (The Heat) who did a great job with Bridesmaids or maybe it was my extremely low expectations. This movie had its raunchy scenes, but they were very few and the movie had a very Get Smart or I-Spy (the TV shows, not the movies) feel to them; A classic type action comedy. I thought the cast was superb and even though Feig said this is his way of directing a James Bond movie, I wouldn’t scoff at the idea anymore.

The world has fallen in love with McCarthy a little faster than I did. It’s not that I don’t see the fuss, I just was I little slower I guess. In Spy, McCarthy brings the awkward comedy she is known for and yet it is still funny. Ms. McCarthy, stick to what you are good at, right? McCarthy shows off her fighting chops as well here and I was surprised how well it worked for her. The stunt coordinator and Feig where able to intertwine McCarthy’s awkwardness and some fighting styles together to make it all seamless. I really didn’t know that Jason Statham had a comedic bone in his body. Yet here Statham plays Rick Ford, a high strung spy who says he “jumped from a high-rise building using only a raincoat as a parachute and broke both legs upon landing; I still had to pretend I was in a **** Cirque du Soleil show!” Surprisingly, Statham is very funny and should consider more comedies. Honorable mention for this movie is Allison Janney. I love Janney, point blank. She is so awesome in CBS’ Mom and here she is just as quick-witted, but isn’t in the movie long enough but to spout out some great lines and disappear. My hat goes off to Rose Byrne though. Playing the villainous Rayna with a very snobbish/conceited manner is very unlike her. Byrne is so delicious as Rayna and holds her own comedic chops against a seasoned vet like McCarthy.

As I mentioned before, I did enjoy Bridesmaids and I thought then, as I do now, that Feig has a great way of balancing the raunchy comedy with the classic one-liners and good nature laughs. Feig dives a little deeper into his directing abilities with the action side of this movie by using all the clichéd camera angles and use of slow-mo. The great thing about his comedic writing and direction is that it hides the ridiculous spy plot. I will say on a personal note though, I did find that the absence of ‘fat’ jokes were very refreshing. I was afraid that there would be a ton due to McCarthy’s character wanting to enter the ‘field’, but there weren’t. I thought that was very classy. This is a story of a woman trying to find her confidence to succeed in a very male-dominated world. Kudos to you Mr. Feig!

Firmly placed among the ranks of other amazing action-comedies like Rush Hour or 48 Hours, Spy is enjoyable on many levels. The cast was hilarious and performed really well. If you are a fan of Feig’s early work, than Spy will not disappoint. The film may even further ease my mind about his take on Ghostbusters…then again, maybe not. (Long live Peter Venkman!)

The Verdict: Worth Your Time.