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2015

 

Melissa McCarthy as Susan Cooper/Carol Jenkins/Penny Morgan

Allison Janney as Elaine

Rose Byrne as Rayna Boyanov

Jason Statham as Rick Ford

Screenplay by Paul Feig

Directed by Paul Feig

 

Happy 52nd birthday to Jason Statham! He’s now known as a highly marketable action star, but he was originally a platform diver for the British national team. He’s now engaged to Rosie Huntington-Whitely (The Splendid Angharad, Mad Max: Fury Road).

 

Spy is a hilarious spoof of basically every secret agent film ever made. It starts with top agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law; The Holiday, The Talented Mr. Ripley) navigating a party to discover some intel from a villainous character. Susan Cooper (McCarthy; Gilmore Girls, Bridesmaids) is the tech in his ear, giving him information and helping him, behind-the-scenes. Fine is killed on a mission later on, and out of grief, Cooper volunteers to go into the field in his place, as a virtual unknown, to try to track down and stop the villains from continuing their plans. Hilarity ensues, of course.

I am absolutely LOVING the new brand of comedy we’re seeing from this generation of actors and directors. Everything is potty talk and cursing (according to my mother, whose sensibilities are offended, but only slightly, as she laughs at most everything), but it works.

What are some of the best parts of this film?

  • Melissa McCarthy. She is so G.D. FUNNY. I love it when she steps it up as Penny Morgan when she’s supposedly helping Rayna. Their bickering is top notch.
  • Jason Statham. According to IMDb.com trivia, director/screenwriter Paul Feig is such a fan that he modeled the character Rick Ford on Statham. This character is absolutely ridiculous, but Statham does an amazing job of playing him.
  • The ridiculous scenarios that Susan Cooper finds herself in. The riverside tech-pop concert is HILARIOUS. Her first kill is disgusting and uproarious. The fight in the kitchen at the nightclub. A cast-iron skillet to the face would probably knock that bitch out immediately, but hey. It’s a comedy.

Weepy Meter: 0/10 Unless you cry while laughing. Seriously. You just might laugh that hard.

Man Meter: 6/10 Action and comedy. Jason Statham. It’s badass, but still full of chicks. If he’s a real human, it won’t matter.

Overall Rating: 8/10 It’s a bit over-the-top at times, and the ending was a bit contrived, but it still hits the mark. I love seeing women take their place in these roles—we can be badass and tough and rough and fit and action heroes too!

 

Photo credit: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3079380/mediaviewer/rm3247049472

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