Spy

Score:  **** out of ***** (A-)

Directed by Paul Feig
Starring Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Jude Law, et. al.
Running time:  120 minutes
Rated R

Long Story Short:  Spy is Melissa McCarthy's biggest film yet as lead and, re-teamed with director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids), she continues to produce great comedy.  While this film isn't hiding its role as 007-parody from anyone, its secret weapon is a hilarious supporting cast (where McCarthy herself developed) including Statham and Byrne.  Come see McCarthy as she takes her place at the top of contemporary comedy, and go back home still giggling happily.


While MI6 has the suave, heroic James Bond, the CIA has impressive Agent Fine (Law) supported by analyst Susan Cooper (McCarthy) watching his back (and talking in his ear).  Fine, along with Cooper, is determined to locate and retrieve a stolen suitcase nuke.  However, despite all of CIA's intel and Cooper's assistance, the bad guys see Fine coming and he is taken out.  With the bomb still out there, the CIA's hands are tied as its top field agents have been compromised.  Analyst Cooper steps up, however:  she is technically an agent herself, but has spent years behind the desk instead.

As Cooper hops around Europe searching for the nuke, she is told to stay at a safe distance:  surveillance only.  Following orders becomes more difficult, though, when she finds that a rogue agent has decided to take the mission on himself.  It soon becomes a question that, if not her, who will prevent the bad guys from using the nuke?  With friends of her own, including her own desk jockey friend, Nancy (Hart), Cooper dusts off her skills and goes to work.

Spy has a great cast, quite funny all around despite featuring just one star comedian.  Melissa McCarthy gets perhaps her most important role yet as the undisputed lead of this big film.  I think she's one of the top three best comedians today, and after a string of excellent supporting or co-lead roles (and the lead in the severely underrated Tammy), I'm thrilled that Hollywood has gotten the memo that she's A-list talent.  Interestingly, as the lead, McCarthy has to modify her humor away from scene-stealing crazy lady to (relatively speaking) more conventional heroine.  Fortunately, she pulls this off just fine, assuring us that she can be the dependable lead for many more films to come, as Ferrell and a select group of other comedians have managed.  Don't worry - she also gets to fire off some of the machine gun-deadly, filthy (and hilarious) monologue insults she's known for, too.

Pulling Spy above the level of a good comedy is its excellent supporting cast - essentially doing the things that McCarthy herself once did so well.  Most surprising, and I would argue most hilarious, is Jason Statham as tough-guy agent Ford.  Statham puffs up his usual act even more, particularly in regaling Cooper with ridiculous tales of his feats.  Then when he actually gets put in action... well, more comedy ensues.  A genius casting, pulled off superbly.  Rose Byrne also appears as the villainess, though her comic skill isn't at all surprising anymore (Bridesmaids, Neighbors).  Still, the intensity and consistency of her haughtiness is impressive.  Miranda Hart is another standout, as Cooper's friend and CIA helper; the two have great chemistry.  There are other small but funny roles as well, particularly from Allison Janney and Peter Serafinowicz.

Spy is a really good comedy, one of the best in recent years, but it still is important to know what you're going into.  In fact, my personal preference would be to avoid trailers/previews as much as possible (which for comedies reveal most of the funniest parts - even for Spy) and instead be told what kind of humor to expect.  Here, we have obviously a parody film, but also one that is considerably more slapstick than McCarthy's other films.  Even though goofiness abounds in her films, the overall tones are not as silly as the one in Spy.  This is fine - but also good to know to maximize your enjoyment, I think.  As a parody, the majority of the humor arises from mocking the kinds of roles in these films (Statham's tough guy agent, Byrne's arrogant villain).  McCarthy's is the zero-to-hero character - and thanks to her (and director Feig's) sharp-as-tacks comic sensibility, the fact that she's a plus-size leading lady elevates it to the complete opposite of scorn.  As a 007 parody, Spy has quite a bit of action too (more than I was expecting), and most of it's done well, particularly for something that's a comedy at heart.

***

Spy is one of the best comedies in recent years, and I hope to see it again soon (for the additional reason that I felt... off, for some reason while watching it, yet still recognize its high quality).  I think The Heat is still her best film, but this is not far behind.  At any rate, McCarthy has achieved Will Ferrell-level status for me:  if I find that she's in a film, I'm going to see it - period.  Not only is she super funny, she can also pull of a range of personalities (sometimes within the same character) that would make plenty of other great comedians jealous - from outrageous provocateur to genuine, sympathetic, vulnerable cast-off (see Tammy - no, really, go watch it).  And wherever she goes with her characters, she remains likable, in part because she's so damn funny and in part because she doesn't come off as having a bone to pick, as an actress, through her character.  It's not surprising that McCarthy lured and inspired such a good supporting cast (including comedy newbies) in Spy, and surely will continue to, making her films all that much better.  McCarthy is a genuine superstar - go see her in Spy, and then eagerly await whatever she does next.


Rolling rankings of the summer's movies (click to go to my reviews):

1. Tomorrowland (A)
2. Jurassic World (A-) (after seeing this a second time, I've upgraded my score; since it's a dinosaur film it wins all tiebreakers for me, but also very worth a trip to the theater for any moviegoer)
3. Spy (A-)
4. Mad Max: Fury Road (A-)
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (A-)

As you can see, this continues to be an absolutely astounding summer for movies - don't miss out!

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