Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason Statham, Allison Janney, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Serafinowicz, 50 cent, Morena Baccarin, Miranda Hart
Director/Screenwriter: Paul Feig
Rated: R – for language throughout, violence, and some sexual content including brief graphic nudity
Runtime: 120 min
On Sunday night, at SXSW, I had an opportunity to see Paul Feig’s newest creation Spy, a film about a desk-confined CIA analyst that must go into the field as an undercover agent to save the world from a dangerous arms dealer.
Now I’m a big fan of Bridesmaids and anything with Melissa McCarthy in it, so I was apt to go. Thankfully, I was rarely disappointed during these 2 hours of film. It doesn’t hurt that I was surrounded by 1500 of fellow film geeks and celebrities, enjoying their Sunday night in the Paramount, one of the most beautiful theaters in Austin, TX.
The movie opened up just like any big action blockbusters of our past, with an alluring and sexy agent (Jude Law) kicking butt and taking names, all the while his tech geek (Melissa McCarthy) is pulling some strings in the background to keep him from getting killed. It was obvious from the start that this movie would be full of not only fast-paced action, but lots of laughs. The juxtaposition of physical and verbal comedy thrown into the mix of a stressful and tense undercover situation was impeccable.
So how is this spy movie different than any other spy movies? And is Melissa McCarthy’s role different than in the movies/shows we are accustomed to seeing her in?
When you think of the other Spy movies at the box office lately: Skyfall, Despicable Me, Get Smart, Kingsman: The Secret Service, This Means War; this movie can easily fit right in with its counterparts. What separates it from the other films is the quick and often filthy banter between characters, awkward humor, and the differing roles of the big named stars in this film.
Melissa McCarthy is flirtatious, charming, and a total bad-ass! Unlike movies where you find a funny and clumsy spy who just so happens to save the day through dumb luck, Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is completely capable and trained in her role as a spy; she was just never given the chance to go out into the field, until now. Jason Statham plays a spy, and from his previous roles in The Transporter, Crank, and The Expendables, we expect him to be an expert in the action world. What makes him so different in Spy is his ability to poke fun at himself, as a spy who quits but still can’t seem to stay away from the action, ultimately screwing up a lot of McCarthy’s opportunities to succeed. Lastly, is Rose Byrne. She plays a bad guy, for crying out loud! And she’s great at it. Whereas in Bridesmaids, where you hate her almost like a high school frienemy, in Spy she is just evil. She runs the show and, at times, she is terrifying. She is more than just a mean girl, she is an evil ruler that has no problems killing and taking over the world.
Spy is a great movie to watch on the big screen, with loud and explosive action scenes and big comedic laughs. The audience only helps to add amazing energy to this flick.
Check out Spy in theaters on June 5th.