Movie Review – Spy

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is a veteran CIA agent who is relegated to desk duties. She provides intel as well as oversight to field agents in order to keep them safe, sound and informed. Susan works very closely with Agent Fine (Jude Law) who Susan feels has the perfect last name. She is head over heels into this smooth spy yet he only sees her as the voice in his ear offering support and guidance. After one of Agent Fine’s missions goes south Susan offers up her anonymity to go undercover to assist in the mission that Fine started.

One of the great things about Paul Feig is that he realizes that some movies, as well as some actors, cannot be effective when bound to the content of a PG-13 movie. Thankfully 20th Century Fox isn’t afraid to release an R-rated movie when it’s called for. Spy fits perfectly into this arena. What makes this an entertaining movie is the freedom that the actors have when it comes to harsh language and crude behavior. I heard a word or two that I don’t know that I’ve EVER heard in a movie before! That’s not to say that it is a classless comedy that takes the cheap laughs over content. Actually it’s quite the opposite. Pretty much everything is done with good taste no matter the situation.

Jason Statham plays Agent Rick Ford and is truly hilarious with his expletive-laden performance. Other co-stars of note include Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Peter Serafinowicz, Bobby Cannavale and Morena Baccarin. As per usual Paul Feig goes heavy on the female involvement and all of the main co-stars were extremely entertaining. One day he will run out of precarious situations to place these actors in, but today’s not that day. There was really good chemistry on screen and, thankfully, Melissa McCarthy didn’t seem to be over-reaching for her role. She let the comedy come to her, therefore making her performance that much more enjoyable. Having a solid cast surrounding someone makes that a much easier proposition.

Melissa McCarthy has really evolved into her own over the years with these types of comedies. Adding the physicality that comes with being a field agent brings an entirely new level of humor to her repertoire. And to her credit, she seems to have embraced this style and made it her own much the way Chris Farley did in his SNL skits as well as Beverly Hills Ninja. The bottom line is that Spy is a comedy that both genders should be able to get behind and laugh equally at what transpires.