Review of Spy (2015) by Dana F — 29 Jun 2017
It's funny in parts, but this film is nowhere near the laugh fiesta I expected it to be. The script just didn't make good on the promise of the premise. If nothing else, it's another great comedy vehicle for funny women, most notably Melissa McCarthy.
It also features outstanding supporting performances by Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, and Miranda Hart as the Britty-witty sidekick (anyone else wonder why an English woman would be working at the CIA? Just me? Okay then, moving on).
This movie just seems like it's trying too hard, a lot of the laughs seemed forced. Its funniest moments are when McCarthy is just riffing; her verbal banter with Byrne is by far funnier than the contrived zany circumstances that the movie concocts.
I will give this movie props because it lets McCarthy be funny without making her the butt of the joke (two "I'm fat so I fall over" jokes notwithstanding... and I can't even fault it for that because McCarthy is a great physical comic as well).
Her character is no Maxwell Smart, she is genuinely a really good spy, and that's refreshing. This movie did break some ground by being an action comedy that cast women in the lead roles, and a fat woman in the lead to boot.
And it did make me laugh here and there. But it's not nearly as smart, fresh, or funny as it thinks it is.
This review of Spy (2015) was written by Dana F on 29 Jun 2017.
Spy has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
