Spy - directed by Paul Feig
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Allison Janney, Peter Serafinowicz, Curtis Jackson, Bobby Cannavale, Morena Baccarin, Zach Woods
Running Time: 120 minutes
Rated: R16 - Very, very profane with a surprising amount of violence and some very brief nudity (male... dammit)
As is usually the case with the 'next big thing' in comedy Melissa McCarthy's movies have come thick and fast since her breakout (and Oscar nominated) role in "Bridesmaids".
And the quality has declined just as fast.
"The Heat" and "Identity Theft" were weak, "Tammy" totally forgettable and other than brief, decent enough scenes in "The Hangover III" it was starting to look like she was destined for the direct to video bins.
Which would be a shame because she is very funny, very talented and deserves a lot better.
Thankfully this re-teaming with her Bridesmaids director gives her exactly that- a much, much better comedy vehicle.
This unlikely tale of a frumpy desk-bound CIA operative who finds herself in the field may be predictable and improbable but it sure is funny.
Opening with an effective and funny scene whereby super agent Jude Law infiltrates a party, screws up royally then is saved by the remarkably adept assistance of McCarthy's ever present (in his ear) desk jockey we are treated to some very-close-to-the-real-thing James Bond-esque titles.
The set up is simple and highly ridiculous.
The only man who knows where a nuke is hidden has been accidentally killed before he can reveal the bombs whereabouts and every CIA agent is known to his villainous daughter so McCarthy's Susan Cooper who has never left her desk is recruited to go into the field to recover it.
Luckily comedy doesn't necessarily need a good or plausible plot.
Sometimes a little glue to string a bunch of good scenes together will do and that is what we have here in terms of the plot.
Not too much time is wasted getting McCarthy into the field but by the time she is stepping off an aeroplane in Paris I had already laughed many times.
A lot of that is of course down to the very funny script and of course McCarthy but the secret weapon for this movie is the casting overall which is perfection through and through.
A quick look at the cast list at the top of the page should clue you in but it's the way that these actors are used that makes this thing really fly.
Jason Statham- so often the scowling, lethally disciplined super cool guy is instead cast as a bit of a buffoon.
His usage of a certain UK-centric swear word is a riot and it is a treat seeing him play such an idiotic character so against type.
Jude Law could be auditioning for a Bond movie and aside from the opening scene isn't there for his comic skills.
Miranda Hart, the gorgeous Rose Byrne, the great Allison Janney and of course McCarthy most certainly are.
Yes- most of the laughs are from the ladies or at least because of them.
McCarthy starts off as the butt of jokes at the expense of her being the polar opposite of what we expect a spy to be but by the midway point she has become something else.
As her confidence grows so does the amount of colourful language.
Honestly- the profanity in this film would make a Quentin Tarantino script blush.
Surprisingly the level of violence would probably make it jealous too.
Hell, if you have an R rating why not use it?
And writer-director Feig surely does.
There is an absolute torrent of F Bombs used in some incredibly imaginative ways and even one hilarious use of the dreaded C word.
McCarthy's constant verbal abuse of several characters around her provides for a high hit rate of laughs.
In particular her banter with Bjorn Gustafsson is gut busting.
Rose Byrne is typically reliable as an utter bitch of a villain and she is glorious.
I love her even in mediocre movies but she is allowed to cut loose here and this is several notches above mediocre and I haven't even got to Peter Serafinowicz yet.
I don't want to say too much about his marvellously lecherous Italian agent because there is more to the role than it first may appear but just let it be said that he is one of the many highlights.
I am lavishing a lot of praise on this film but it is not without problems.
Constantly I am finding that comedies don't know when enough is enough and don't quit when the quitting's good.
Judd Apatow movies suffer terribly from this and "Spy" falls victim to an overlong running time too.
It needs about twenty minutes give or take trimmed from its length.
Some of the things that work start to get stale from overuse and a tighter cut would have done it a lot of favours.
It is saved by a late surge where the laughs come back strong however.
There is a bit of underuse of some assets too.
As a Firefly fan I am biased but Morena Baccarin needed more to do and Bobby Cannavale is completely wasted.
Ultimately these niggles don't matter as much as they could because this is a very funny movie and a welcome return to form for McCarthy and Feig.
The often graphic violence is always utilised purely for comic effect and it really works.
Being surrounded by an audience comprised at least half of women all laughing loudly at headshots, neck snappings and close up slo-mo knife wounds tells you that things are working.
This one is going to make a lot of money and deserves to.
RATING: 80 / 100
CONCLUSION: Loaded with profanity and some bloody violence but always in the service of laughs this may be 20 minutes too long but it's easily funny enough to warrant the ticket purchase.
Running Time: 120 minutes
Rated: R16 - Very, very profane with a surprising amount of violence and some very brief nudity (male... dammit)
As is usually the case with the 'next big thing' in comedy Melissa McCarthy's movies have come thick and fast since her breakout (and Oscar nominated) role in "Bridesmaids".
And the quality has declined just as fast.
"The Heat" and "Identity Theft" were weak, "Tammy" totally forgettable and other than brief, decent enough scenes in "The Hangover III" it was starting to look like she was destined for the direct to video bins.
Which would be a shame because she is very funny, very talented and deserves a lot better.
Thankfully this re-teaming with her Bridesmaids director gives her exactly that- a much, much better comedy vehicle.
This unlikely tale of a frumpy desk-bound CIA operative who finds herself in the field may be predictable and improbable but it sure is funny.
Opening with an effective and funny scene whereby super agent Jude Law infiltrates a party, screws up royally then is saved by the remarkably adept assistance of McCarthy's ever present (in his ear) desk jockey we are treated to some very-close-to-the-real-thing James Bond-esque titles.
The set up is simple and highly ridiculous.
The only man who knows where a nuke is hidden has been accidentally killed before he can reveal the bombs whereabouts and every CIA agent is known to his villainous daughter so McCarthy's Susan Cooper who has never left her desk is recruited to go into the field to recover it.
Luckily comedy doesn't necessarily need a good or plausible plot.
Sometimes a little glue to string a bunch of good scenes together will do and that is what we have here in terms of the plot.
Not too much time is wasted getting McCarthy into the field but by the time she is stepping off an aeroplane in Paris I had already laughed many times.
A lot of that is of course down to the very funny script and of course McCarthy but the secret weapon for this movie is the casting overall which is perfection through and through.
 |
| The many faces of McCarthy - with Miranda Hart and Jason Statham. Cast chemistry is evident |
Jason Statham- so often the scowling, lethally disciplined super cool guy is instead cast as a bit of a buffoon.
His usage of a certain UK-centric swear word is a riot and it is a treat seeing him play such an idiotic character so against type.
Jude Law could be auditioning for a Bond movie and aside from the opening scene isn't there for his comic skills.
Miranda Hart, the gorgeous Rose Byrne, the great Allison Janney and of course McCarthy most certainly are.
Yes- most of the laughs are from the ladies or at least because of them.
McCarthy starts off as the butt of jokes at the expense of her being the polar opposite of what we expect a spy to be but by the midway point she has become something else.
As her confidence grows so does the amount of colourful language.
Honestly- the profanity in this film would make a Quentin Tarantino script blush.
Surprisingly the level of violence would probably make it jealous too.
Hell, if you have an R rating why not use it?
And writer-director Feig surely does.
There is an absolute torrent of F Bombs used in some incredibly imaginative ways and even one hilarious use of the dreaded C word.
McCarthy's constant verbal abuse of several characters around her provides for a high hit rate of laughs.
In particular her banter with Bjorn Gustafsson is gut busting.
Rose Byrne is typically reliable as an utter bitch of a villain and she is glorious.
I love her even in mediocre movies but she is allowed to cut loose here and this is several notches above mediocre and I haven't even got to Peter Serafinowicz yet.
I don't want to say too much about his marvellously lecherous Italian agent because there is more to the role than it first may appear but just let it be said that he is one of the many highlights.
 |
| McCarthy is funny but the contribution of the whole cast including Rose Byrne, Allison Janney and Jude Law is vital |
Constantly I am finding that comedies don't know when enough is enough and don't quit when the quitting's good.
Judd Apatow movies suffer terribly from this and "Spy" falls victim to an overlong running time too.
It needs about twenty minutes give or take trimmed from its length.
Some of the things that work start to get stale from overuse and a tighter cut would have done it a lot of favours.
It is saved by a late surge where the laughs come back strong however.
There is a bit of underuse of some assets too.
As a Firefly fan I am biased but Morena Baccarin needed more to do and Bobby Cannavale is completely wasted.
Ultimately these niggles don't matter as much as they could because this is a very funny movie and a welcome return to form for McCarthy and Feig.
The often graphic violence is always utilised purely for comic effect and it really works.
Being surrounded by an audience comprised at least half of women all laughing loudly at headshots, neck snappings and close up slo-mo knife wounds tells you that things are working.
This one is going to make a lot of money and deserves to.
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