Review of Spy (2015) by Jesse O — 29 Oct 2015

I don't know if I've written about this before, but I'm sick and tired of people not finding Melissa McCarthy funny either because of her weight or because of the fact that she's a woman.

There are these types of people out there, seriously. Check Twitter or Reddit and see for yourself. Don't me get wrong, comedy is incredibly subjective, even more so than any other film genre. It all depends on what you perceive to be funny.

Not every comedian is gonna be your cup of tea and I understand that. So I'm saying that I know not everyone is gonna like Melissa McCarthy and that's fine, because her style isn't for everybody.

I don't have a problem if anyone actually has legitimate reasons for why they don't like her. I do have a problem, however, when people dislike her for physical reasons that have nothing to do with whether she's actually a talented comedic actress or not.

When you start bringing her weight or gender into it, then that's when your opinion is null and void. It's null and void simply because it has nothing to do with her as an actress and all to do her physical appearance.

You don't have to respect everyone's opinion if they're basing it on something that has nothing to with the person's job or talents as an actor/musician/author. With that out of the way, and my personal opinion of Melissa is that she's an incredibly talented comedic actress, I thought this film was pretty excellent all things considered.

Some of the most fun I've had watching a film this year. For something that goes close to two hours, it's a film that, surprisingly, is paced really fucking well. Like the time just flies by when you're watching this movie.

It's surprising in the sense that a lot of comedy films, particularly ones that go this long, end up having a period where they really start to drag and they end up suffering for it. This is one of those rare examples where it actually doesn't drag and the film moves at an incredibly brisk pace.

It's obviously for the benefit of the film. It's also one of those rare examples of a comedy film that has so many characters to draw from when it comes to memorable characters that provide a wide variety of comedic highlights.

Seriously, I'm having a hard time coming up with another, mainstream Hollywood comedy film, that had this many memorable, and funny, characters. While some comedy films may be great, I do realize that not every character is gonna be funny or contribute something that's memorable to the film.

The supporting cast to this film is one of the best of any Hollywood comedy in ages. Jason Statham, essentially, plays the same role he plays in all his films, but with an obvious comic undertone and he is actually really great here.

Rose Byrne has some of the best lines in the entire movie. Miranda Hart, as Susan's best friend, is also immensely entertaining with great comedic timing and facials. Peter Serafinowicz, as Aldo, is one of the funnier characters in the entire film.

Even 50 Cent, in his cameo, is funny here. There's even this character, Anton, that doesn't even live longer than 10 minutes after being introduced and his antagonistic relationship with Melissa's character led to some funny bits.

Not to mention Melissa's character herself. I can't even begin to detail some of the best bits, because I would be here for a long time, but I think this is one of the more consistently funny movies I've seen a while.

Much like I said earlier, there are a lot of comedies that end up dragging before picking right back up for the end. Even What We Do in the Shadows, one of my favorite comedies of the year, ended up dragging a bit in parts.

Though, honestly, I would rate both films at about the same level, even though this one is more consistent. The film, obviously, parodies the spy genre and its tropes and how it, for the most part, treats its women characters.

I wouldn't call it like a heavy spoof, like the OSS films, where it obviously heavily parodies the James Bond films and the stereotypes associated with the genre. This one just features a female character being thrown into the spy world after other CIA agents are compromised.

The writing is sharp and quick witted but, honestly, a lot of that is the cast and, I'm sure, the freedom they were given with being able to deliver the lines in a different manner or add their own little tweaks.

I'm sure there was some ad libbing going on here. I can't really complain a whole hell of a lot about this film. It's a top-notch quality comedy film that adds its own fresh and modern twist to a genre that has been telling stories from a single perspective.

I thought this was great. An excellent cast, one of the best you'll see this year, and excellent writing make this film a must-see. I'm sure some people will find flaws, and I wouldn't discount them in the least, but I just had a great time watching this movie.

And, when you're talking about something like this, then having a great time is what matters. So, yes, I loved this movie. It comes highly recommend, for sure.