Spy

Kingsman: The Secret Service started a beautiful new wave of James Bond satire films. It's been done before but never quite as meta as it was in Kingsman, actively referencing how similar the plot and archetypes are to James Bond while still having a refreshing novelty factor and interesting characters of its own - creating this whole new world for the over-the-top James Bond-esque adventures to take place while the real James Bond canon continues its serious, grounded story arc.

While Kingsman was about setting up this elite organization and showing off their penchant for ridiculously elaborate action sequences, Spy has little exposition and throws you right into this hysterical world where Jude Law is the super suave secret agent and Melissa McCarthy acts as his eyes and ears back at headquarters. Jason Statham comes in later as a rogue agent who is as arrogant as he is oblivious. The movie doesn't itself seriously but it never goes into parody territory. These characters, as overblown and ridiculous as they are, still have relatable personalities, and you're willing to go on this crazy adventure with them right from the start.

Spy is very much an action comedy - whether you view it more as an action movie or as a comedy is completely up to you. I found it hilarious within the first minute and was laughing heartily throughout the entire movie, but there's no denying that the action sequences are incredibly well done. Specifically, the fight between Susan Cooper (McCarthy) and a female assassin in a kitchen, the opening sequence of Cooper alerting Bradley Fine (Law) where enemies are while Fine sweeps them up in a rat maze full of baddies, and the scene with the car where Cooper mops the floor with a handful of terrorists with little to no effort. If you aren't laughing at the jokes, you can laugh at how insane and over-the-top the action is - either way, it's an incredibly fun time.

What I find most compelling about Spy is how likable each character is. It's not just McCarthy, Law, and Statham with a bunch of stoic supporting characters. No, even the supporting characters are hilarious and interesting. Miranda Hart plays Cooper's goofy friend who does dumb things with the best of intentions, Rose Byrne plays the villainous daughter of a rich terrorist and has some excellent back-and-forth bickering with McCarthy, and Peter Serafinowicz plays Aldo: a sleazy Frenchman who absolutely loves women and especially their boobs. They all have moments of hilarity; even the main antagonist played by Bobby Cannavale who is supposed to be a classy businessman has quirky one-liners and the funniest villain run I've seen in recent memory. Oh, and 50 Cent is in it playing 50 Cent. Yeah, it's as crazy as it sounds.

As far as lead performances go, this is the funniest Melissa McCarthy has ever been. This is the ideal role for her because her character has a serious job and a serious mission juxtaposed with McCarthy's snarky personality and usual shenanigans, making for some truly hysterical situations. Jason Statham, however, is the real highlight here. The man is brilliant in this role. He's a tough-guy agent that goes around bragging about how badass he is and goes on to do the stupidest things ever while still keeping a straight face and menacing persona - essentially a parody of his usual roles. His rants are comedy gold simply because it's Statham doing them. He proves here that he's not only one of the greatest action stars working today but also one of the funniest. The fact that he even agreed to this movie says a lot about Statham's attitude - he's a great sport and isn't afraid to make fun of himself, and I really hope this earns him more comedic roles in the future.

Spy was everything I wanted it to be and more. I laughed harder at this movie than I did at most comedies in the past decade. The production value was fantastic, the pacing was perfect, and director Paul Feig clearly knows how to do comedy but now can add action to his resume. Everything about this movie works. It also allows James Bond to continue its serious endeavors, Kingsman to handle the classy yet gritty side of secret agents, while Spy focuses on the campy and silly nature of the whole affair. I sincerely hope this gets a franchise because there are too many great things happening for it not to get a sequel. On it's own however, Spy is an absolutely brilliant, perfectly casted satire that should not be missed by fans of action, comedy, or fun.

In the late 1930s through early 1940s ('38-'40 to be precise), there was a barrage of slick comedies characterized by witty, cheeky, rapid-fire dialogues between characters without so much as a breath between jokes, let alone hold for audience reaction. To me, the pinnacle of this achievement was the pairing of Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, both fast-talking sultans of sarcasm, in films like "Bringing Up Baby", "Holiday" and "The Philadelphia Story". Here, nearly a century later, we revisit that style but ramped up on crack, to the point where, after seeing the movie, I had to google the script to see what I missed while laughing my arse off--and laughing it off all over again.

Let me give you an example. The following exchange between "Ford" (Jason Statham) and "Susan" (Melissa McCarthy) is crammed into the space of probably 10 seconds at most, with Jason firing off his lines like a Chicago Gangster with a cockney accent and Melissa quietly interjecting, unnoticed, barely giving him time to reload before his next strafing.

FORD: You really think you're ready for the field? I once used defibrillators on myself! I put shards of glass in my fn' eye! I've 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 fing Cirque du Soleil show! I've swallowed enough microchips and s*** them back out again to make a computer. This arm has been ripped off completely and re-attached ...with THIS fing' arm..!

SUSAN: I don't know that that's possible... I mean medically...

FORD: During the threat of an assassination attempt, I appeared convincingly in front of congress as Barack Obama..!

SUSAN: In blackface? That's not appropriate.

FORD: I watched the woman I love get tossed from a plane ...and hit by another plane mid-air! I drove a car off a freeway on top of a train while it was on fire. Not the car, *I* was on fire..!

SUSAN: Jesus you're intense.

I don't think I need to say much more in my review; if you like that style of banter (not so much banter as jackhammer) comedy, don't miss "Spy". Written and directed by Paul Feig who brought us many episodes of The Office before his big screen breakthrough "Bridesmades" and worthy follow-up "The Heat", here in "Spy" we get the third of his brilliant comedies starring the incomparable Melissa McCarthy. In this case, the script is amped up the most of all with so many hilarious lines that you really have to check out the imdb quotes section afterwards to see what you missed, then watch it again.

The plot? Who cares. Something about spies and nukes and hot Bulgarian villains played by Rose Byrne who really channels her inner Cruella Deville only without the dog skin furs, instead opting to dress, as one character points out, "like a slutty dolphin trainer".

If it's possible, EVERY character steals the show. From Melissa (obviousy) down to the bit part of the villain's blonde male henchman who has only 6 lines (and whom Melissa taunts: "I don't see a man. I see a reject from The Sound of Music.")

So watch this movie while you can. I don't know if witty, snappy, script-driven comedies like this will follow but I'd love to see. In the same way Hepburn/Grant defined the comedic style of the 1940s, or in the same way the Zucker-Abraham-Zucker team defined comedy of the 1980s ("Airplane!", "Top Secret!"), here another 40 years later we get a smart, stylish, characteristic brand of comedy that I think our generation can be proud to laugh hysterically to.

While Melissa McCarthy's investigator in "The Heat" was both a fine cop and a sexual dynamo, inspiring many heartbroken men, she has made a thriving career by playing boisterous and irresponsible characters with high-level security clearance.

The actress' abilities are enhanced by Paul Feig's "Spy," which gives her the opportunity to travel the globe as CIA operative Susan Cooper while surprising both those around her and herself. Bradley Fine, a stylish super-spy, is guided through perilous situations by Susan, a ten-year veteran of the organization.

The only CIA agent who can find Rayna DeLuca, who wants to buy a renegade nuclear weapon from the DeLuca family, is Susan. She is given drab undercover identities and gadgets that are disguised as stool softener, toe-fungus spray, and hemorrhoid wipes by her boss despite her proficiency with a headset and computer screen.

Rayna is the subject of Susan's tracking and reporting, but she ends up getting close and personal with her. The scenes between McCarthy and Byrne are brutally funny and full of insult comedy. Feig gives McCarthy a comic foil in the form of Peter Serafinowicz, Jason Statham, and Miranda Hart while also treating the spy narrative seriously enough to keep us interested.

While "Spy" contains more blood and violence than typical espionage films, the humour is never compromised. It serves as a reminder of the peril Susan faces while also demonstrating how cartoonish many modern espionage dramas have turned out to be. The movie "Spy" by McCarthy and Feig stands out because it managed to keep me smiling while simultaneously making me wonder who was actually pulling the strings.

The often brilliant Melissa McCarthy is on top of her game as the mousy Susan Cooper, a behind-the-scenes CIA agent who finds herself struggling to prove herself in the field.

The movie is rather similar to Bob Hope movies like My Favorite Brunette in which he found himself taking on a more exciting life he isn't completely prepared for. Like Hope, McCarthy will be incredibly incompetent when that can get the laughs but other times prove herself as able as more stereotypical heroes. (Although unlike most Hope movies, McCarthy plays someone who stars with some level of competence).

The cast is excellent, with Jude Law doing a fine James Bond impression and very funny performances from Miranda Hart as a goofy fellow agent and Peter Serafinowicz as a sleazebag.

There is also a bit of a feminist theme here, with the movie mocking masculine jerks (particularly Jason Statham's insane egotist). There is also some surprisingly solid action, most notably a Jackie-Chan- influenced kitchen fight.

While the movie is funny and well-acted, the plot leaves something to be desired. It holds together most of the way, but towards the end the writers toss logic out the window and don't even really try to justify what's going on.

Some people are complaining that this movie is foul-mouthed. I'm assuming these people live in small towns where Jimmy Stewart runs the local savings and loan and the Beaver is always getting into trouble. I found it all very funny.

Spy knows how to put a fun and modern spin on the spy genre in ways the major franchises would struggle to do. The plot is suitably twisty (some predictable & some unexpected) and even though there are occasional gaps between the laughs, it has more than enough to ensure that isn't a major issue.

Melissa McCarthy has been in some subpar comedies but roles like this offer a reminder that she's one of the best at comedy. This role is so different to her previous collaborations with Paul Feig (for the better) and requires a lot since the undercover work means her character is constantly changing.

Jason Statham is the best thing about this and the only downside is that he could be in it a lot more. It's possible he's only this good because he's in small doses to avoid too much of a good thing however, the major takeaway is that Statham is ridiculously gifted at comedy and it's a real crime that he's not utilised it more often.

Paul Feig's direction runs into his usual misstep of letting some scenes overstay their welcome and yet it doesn't derail it, mainly due to the jokes that do land being proper belly laughs. In the action, it's just a little over reliant on slow motion. Also, the music by Theodore Shapiro really nails the generic spy movie score.