Review of Spy Hard (1996) by The B — 27 Jul 2008

"Agent Dick Steele" (Leslie Neilsen), codename: "WD-40," comes out of retirement when the daughter of his late partner "Victoria Dahl" (Stephanie Romanov, who also plays her daughter "Barbara Dahl") is kidnapped by his archenemy "Genral Rancor" (TV legend Andy Griffith), whom he assumed was killed when his heilocopter exploded on his last assignment, which also saw the death of "Victoria.".

"Rancor" is again planning to take over the world, and "Steele" is the only one who can stop him.

Just like any of Neilsen's movies, starting with the "Naked Gun" series, there are lots of sight gags. Sadly, in my opinion, the majority of them will give you a really good chuckle. There are a few gags and verbal jokes which will make you laugh out loud.

There are also many scenes which parody some well known scenes in some movies that came out up to the point of this film's release.

Watching Neilsen in this film is one of the best parts of the movie. It is amazing that he is able to keep a straight face with all the gags that are going on around him the majority of the time.

Griffith is good in the role that is so different from the types of roles he is known and loved for. However, he isn't used enough in the film to really expand on the character. However, like Neilsen, he plays his character straight and is enjoyable.

The rest of the cast does a fair to decent job with what they are given. It's too bad that they aren't used to their full potential.

Possibly the worst part of the movie is that the jokes seemingly don't stop. You have to keep your eye on the screen to make sure you don't miss a joke. At least the "Airplane" movies gave you a break in the comedy once in awhile.

"Spy Hard" would probably be good to view on cable, or a solid second choice rental.