Melissa McCarthy is an actress who has shown that she can be
way off target with some of her films and then rebound to have a direct hit
with the next. It’s nice to know she’s willing to take chances but at the same
time she needs to have someone there to tell her when things don’t work. If she
can do that more often then the odds of her successes will multiply. Consider
the fact that she came off the well-made THE HEAT only to come up with TAMMY
which was difficult to watch. The good news is that the second film after that
one is this week’s top pick, SPY. It is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen
all year.
McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, the CIA analyst who makes the
top notch spy she works with, Bradley Fine (Jude Law), look good. Through his
earpiece and via button camera she helps warn him when someone is behind him,
the number of bad guys headed his way and where they’re coming from and steps
in via drone when the chips are down. While all of this comes from her computer
he gets the credit for being in the field. Without her he’d probably not be the
success he is.
But Susan has a secret. She’s fallen for the man she’s
supposed to protect. So maybe when she’s doing her job she has a personal
interest in him coming back alive as well. When he rewards her by taking her to
dinner after a successful mission his reward for her work is less than she
expected.
That all changes when Fine, on a job to locate Rayna Boyanov
(Rose Byrne), is killed by her after a jamming device prevents Susan from
helping him. As Rayna tells Susan via Fine’s camera, she knows the names and
identities of the Agency’s top spies. Sending any of them out to locate her
would be to condemn them to certain death.
Agency head Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney) is looking for
options. With a portable nuke about to be auctioned off she’s open to ideas.
Headstrong and cocky spy Rick Ford (Jason Statham) insists he go in and when
she refuses he leaves the Agency and goes rogue. As a suggestion Susan suggest
that she go in. No one know her and she’s the best informed about the case. A
surprising review of her early tests scores and footage leaves Crocker with the
idea of trying her out and Susan is sent into the field to follow leads and
return information only. Of course we are well aware that more than that is
bound to happen.
And it does in some hilarious moments. McCarthy is adept at
both a quick turn of a phrase as well as the physical aspects of comedy that
follows in the footsteps of some of the greats such as Lucille Ball. She never
holds back and in the end it pays off. A running joke of Susan wanting to look
the part of a glamorous spy and being forced into disguises that make her more
cat lady than cat woman works each and every time it’s used here. But can she accomplish
the task at hand? Can she locate the nuke before a terrorists gets his hands on
it? Only time will tell and that time is well spent watching and laughing out
loud at this side splitting film.
Not only does McCarthy turn in a great performance, fans of
Miranda Hart will find themselves cheering for her here in the role of sidekick
to Susan in the role Susan performed for Fine. Hart is a much loved comedienne
in England but not as well known in the states. Hopefully that will be remedied
after this film. Jude Law does a great job here as well showing a Bond like
character that isn’t quite as much as he thinks he is. And Statham shows that
he has a comedic side rarely made visible in most of his films. His madman like
over the top spy who appears at the worst moments is always laugh inducing.
While watching
this film I found myself laughing more often than not. The true test though was
found in my wife whose sense of humor exists but not often to the point that
she laughs loudly at most comedies. With this film she was doing just that, a
sure sign that the movie worked not just for me but should be one that any and
all comedy lovers will enjoy. I doubt there will ever be a cross over between
the long running James Bond films and Susan Cooper but it would be hilarious to
see it happen. Instead let’s just hope that a follow up is in the works and
that time is taken to make sure it fires on all cylinders like this one does.
Click here to order. 
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