Spy

Dustin: 4 of 5 stars Nick: 3.5 of 5 stars Average: 3.75 of 5 stars

Dustin: The director/star team of Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy have finally delivered the perfect vehicle for McCarthy’s brand of humor. Spy is a hilarious parody of Bond films and the espionage genre.

Nick: Spy is the funniest movie McCarthy has starred in (including Bridesmaids) though maybe the worst titled. I have yet to meet a person who knew the name of this movie, but still know a Melissa McCarthy movie is out in theaters. I read an interview yesterday where actor Bradley Whitford talks about how studios try to give projects the most generic names possible. Spy comes quite close to the MOST generic possible.

Dustin: I went into this movie a bit wary, feeling let down by their previous attempt (Tammy). This movie had me laughing in the pre-title sequence, and I was hoping they could hold the momentum. Luckily, the movie managed to deliver laughs throughout and had some decently executed action sequences.

Nick: Please don’t mention Tammy. I’m going to go off on a tirade, and we will never get back to Spy! It upsets me McCarthy’s characters most notable quality is they’re fat and also quite mean. Which is the reason most of her films annoy me, but in Spy she is actually a nice person which kind of offsets the fat jokes.

Dustin: She did show some range in the recent film St. Vincent with Bill Murray, which was a great performance from her that wasn’t really talked about because it was more of a Bill Murray film than a Melissa McCarthy one.

Nick: McCarthy did do a great job in St.Vincent, but I don’t consider the movie a starring vehicle for her. The movie was about Vincent’s redemption. If it was about her character’s redemption I can guarantee it would include many fat jokes.

Dustin: I liked how Spy took stylistic elements from the Bond films to establish the tone (which they kept consistent throughout, which is actually a compliment considering how some comedies fail to pull that off). The action sequences weren’t perfect or as well done as most Bond films, but it was certainly better than Taken 2 or Brick Mansions.

Nick: I skipped Taken 2, but I completely agree in terms of Brick Mansions. Most of the action pieces had comedy bits, which kept the tone even. Either coming from Jason Statham’s arrogantly horrible spy or from McCarthy’s moves shocking her villain counterparts.  

Dustin: Jason Statham showed great comedic chops I didn’t realize he was capable of. It was funny an agency that requires U.S. citizenship from its members (and spouses!) would have a Brit “agent.” But given this was a parody of crummy spy films like the Bourne series, it was spot-on.

Nick: The first film I ever saw with Statham was a comedy called Mean Machine. It’s a remake of the Burt Reynold’s Longest Yard, but instead of football they’re playing soccer. Still love that movie, and Statham is the best part. You should check it out. The villains in Spy were also hilarious. Rose Byrne as Rayna was awesome and her henchman was even better with his short but sweet exchanges with McCarthy.

Dustin: This movie was a well-executed comedy. While not a ground-breaking comedy, it did everything it set out to do, which was make a hilarious spy spoof. Actually, this might be the best spy spoof I’ve ever seen, next to The Bourne Supremacy!

Nick: I would need a list of all the spoof movies in order to agree with you, but I can definitely agree that it is the most enjoyable Melissa McCarthy starring vehicle yet!