Spies Like Us

This is up there with Dr. Strangelove as hilarious col war comedy which delivers on the message that nuclear warfare is human folly. Dan Akroid and Chevy Chase at their prime. War Games in 1983 is another entertaining approach to this topic, though with less comedy and more suspense.

I bought the DVD of this movie for six dollars. Best deal on a movie I've ever seen. Having been raised in the 90's I missed out on many of those fantastic 80's films. Dan and Chevy really make the movie work. Very few actors could have taken a movie with as little plot as Spies Like Us and turned into a funny soup bowl full of laughs. One more thing, perhaps the funniest scene in any movie happens early on. Where Chevy Chase is cheating on the test...Priceless. If you like over-the-top government action, with hilarious scenes and horrible attempts to hit on beautiful women. You'll love this movie.

If not...Then you need to take a moment to look at your life, relax, and just enjoy something every once in a while.

Two inept CIA recruits (Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd) are chosen to act as decoy spies while the real spies complete a top secret mission, only the two don't know they aren't real spies. Hilarious Cold War comedy from John Landis in the tradition of the classic Hope & Crosby 'Road' movies. Despite some swearing and sexy parts (mild by Landis standards), this is a very old school type of comedy. The jokes come from putting two top comedians in funny situations and letting them cut loose. Aykroyd and Chase have perfect chemistry and timing. It's a shame that, unlike Hope & Crosby, they didn't do more than one movie like this. There's a great mix of verbal and physical comedy here. Lots of memorable lines and scenes. Love the music, too. A must for fans of Landis or the two stars. I would recommend it to fans of the old Road movies, as well.

I first saw Spies Like Us when I was a kid, when Chevy Chase was my favourite actor. I must have seen it about fifty times since then and I am almost word-perfect on the script. However, I've never owned the DVD since Warner have never released it in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Thankfully it is currently available in HD on the PlayStation network.

Emmett Fitz-Hume and Austin Millbarge (Chase and Aykroyd) are two lowly government workers who are suddenly promoted to the elite GLG-20 spy status after they are caught cheating on a test. What they don't know is that they are just decoys to draw heat away from the real spies and are promptly dumped straight into enemy territory.

Chase and Aykroyd have great chemistry together and I'm surprised they didn't work together much after this (although they did hook up for The Couch Trip, Caddyshack 2 and Nothing But Trouble). There's loads of fun to had in watching them bumble from one zany situation from the next. And, as this is a Landis film, there are director cameos all over the place. Keep a lookout for Terry Gilliam, Martin Brest, Joel Coen, Sam Raimi etc.

Despite the fanbase, Warner have never showed this film any respect or given special treatment of any kind when it comes to the home video market. As I already said, as of yet the only DVD available is the fullscreen version from 1998. Even the HD version I watched was from a very murky print and has terrible sound. If Warner make a Blu Ray from this master it's still not worth buying.

Give it a rent unless a proper remaster is done. Which is unlikely.

For Chevy Chase fans, this film displays one of his vintage performances---right up there with a couple of his "Vacation" films and "Fletch." He and Dan Aykroyd form a great comedic duo with great chemistry that will leave you wanting for more.

The setting changes rapidly from DC, to Pakistan, to the former Soviet Union. Chase and Aykroyd are identified as expendable Department of State personnel, and therefore trained as covert agent decoys and tasked with an ultra top-secret mission deep inside Soviet territory. The newly appointed agent/spies don't realize they're decoys, but rather, think they're real agents on a real mission. Good stuff.

Together, their bumbling antics throughout agent training and their top-secret mission are good for steady laughs from beginning to end, as they find themselves playing the "accidental hero" role charged with saving the world.

Very scenic locations, some decent special effects (for the mid-80's), and some serious plot-twists amidst the silly humor enables "Spies Like Us" to hold the viewer's attention in-between comedic situations.