Director Paul Feig, whose BRIDESMAIDS upended notions of what a raunchy female ensemble comedy could be, does it again with another genre – the spy spoof. In SPY Melissa McCarthy stars as Susan Cooper, a desk-bound CIA analyst who uses technology to watch the back of her partner, Special Agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law), acting as his eyes and ears to remotely guide him on dangerous espionage endeavors. When he is killed by Raina Boyanov (Rose Byrne), the spoiled criminal daughter of a Bulgarian crime lord that Bradley had killed in the opening scene, Cooper volunteers to be sent to the field to avenge his death. She is assigned the task of following Raina through Europe and reporting back with information about the potential handing over of a nuclear weapon, one only Raina knows the whereabouts of. In disguise, Susan becomes much closer to her target than what had been initially planned, all the while trying to avoid Ford (Jason Statham), an obnoxious rogue CIA agent determined to singlehandedly solve this mission himself. She also has to contend with her assigned disguises, which include old-lady perms, dowdy dresses and T-shirts with cats on them (“I look like someone’s homophobic aunt”).
SPY may have a familiar set-up, but it’s hilarious, with a perfect cast and nonstop zingers that fly so thick and so fast that you’re likely to miss half of them because you’ll be laughing so loudly. SPY is not an Austin Powers-style parody of the secret agent genre, but really a straightforward riff on the James Bond series and director/writer Feig’s affection for all things 007 is clear. He tailors SPY into the template of a classic Bond entry complete with globe-hopping action (Paris, Rome, and Istanbul), a ‘Q’-like gadget master (who conceals gizmos in stool softeners, hemorrhoid wipes, and fungal cream), a scene at a casino, a car chase, and a Shirley Bassey-inspired opening tune played over animated gunplay credits. The plot twists in SPY won’t surprise anyone familiar with the espionage dossier, but Feig is not trying to reinvent the genre but simply to make his audience laugh. Seeing a mostly female-driven farce is something of a relief after years of repetitive Seth Rogen/Will Ferrell/Adam Sandler/Judd Apatow man-child comedies. Jude Law has fun and Jason Statham is a riot spoofing his image but SPY is notable for its roster of funny women in solid roles. McCarthy is defter and more empowered than usual (and with a mouth that would make Samuel L. Jackson blush). They’ve dialed down the usual laugh-at-the-fat-chick gags and the actress seems more than game for the physical stuff. Watch in amazement at what she does with a frying pan in a show-stopping kitchen battle. McCarthy is a big presence who needs a foil, and Rose Byrne is more than good enough. Though they don’t begin to interact until halfway in, the pair has perfect, aggressive timing and the films best moments are the hilarious and vulgar banter that fly between them (“what are you, a slutty dolphin trainer?”). Allison Janney is a stitch as Susan’s humorless boss with her own rigid ideas about appropriate camouflage and horsey Brit Miranda Hart is a scene-stealer as Susan’s best pal and fellow agent.
SPY is terrific in a lot of ways, and there’s an easy argument to be made that it’s the funniest major American film so far this year purely on the merits of its joke construction and action. It’s crude and rude, its plot is nothing special, and at over two hours it threatens to run out of steam, but its leading ladies strike major comic sparks off each other and I highly recommend SPY.
4 of 5 Stars
