Comedies haven’t exactly made the best of impressions so far this summer – Hot Pursuit and Aloha being prime examples. This week, director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) attempts to spoof the secret agent world of James Bond in Spy and brings a large ensemble together to do so. It’s scattershot at times and perhaps a bit long for its own good, but when it hits the mark (which is frequent), the movie is hilarious. It won’t be winning any awards, but this is a sure fire crowd-pleaser.
The set up is simple enough. Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an agent for the CIA, but spends her time in an office offering online assistance to field agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law). When Fine’s cover is blown, the meek and sweet Cooper must step out of the shadows and track the villainous Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) in order to help retrieve a lost nuclear weapon. Also mixed up in the secret agent’s business is angry, revenge-seeking rogue agent Rick Ford (Jason Statham), grabby Italian contact Aldo (Peter Serafinowicz), and nervous co-worker Nancy (Miranda Hart).
Other characters pop in and out of the story, but this group in particular stand out. James Bond has always been ripe for parody and the Cooper character is an ideal contrast. She has the skills necessary to get things done, but doesn’t look like the traditional spy. As such, she suffers derision from her peers early on, not only resulting in some amusingly exasperated comments, but also adding a likable underdog quality to the mission. This is a great role for McCarthy and she makes the best of it, maximizing both her verbal and physical timing to full effect. Naturally, as the situations get more and more outrageous, it results in bigger and bigger laughs.
The middle act is where the movie really hits its stride. While all the actors are funny, one really surprises. I never thought I’d be writing this, but Statham is a hilarious comic scene-stealer. Ford is a brilliant send up of the actor’s action film persona – a lunk-headed agent who won’t let any rational thought get in the way of accomplishing his goal. Whether the character is bickering with work nemesis Cooper, endlessly boasting about his increasingly ridiculous encounters with enemies or brainstorming about a new technology that will give him the perfect cover, Statham is absolutely hysterical.
And even the action itself is impressively handled. While action parodies tend to half-ass the fight scenes, there are several well-choreographed battles that not only deliver laughs, but look convincing as well. There’s a nasty encounter that ends brutally, before becoming so graphic that the entire situation becomes uproarious. A close quarters fight in a kitchen that uses knives, dishes and a frying pan to full effect serves as the highlight – it’s fast and dynamic enough to work in any action film. The fact that it’s also funny is a great bonus.
At nearly two full hours, there appears to be a lot of improvisation and the movie does go on tangents. This results in a couple of slow spells and a few gags that aren’t quite as funny, particularly towards the close. But it’s a minor beef. It’s crude, slapdash and quite silly at times, but Spy consistently brings smiles to the faces of viewers for the majority of its running time. As goofy summer comedies go, this is a sure bet.