Spy

Review By: John Delia

Just when you think you’ve seen the funniest comedy of 2015 up pops Spy, a hilarious silly movie that entertains big time.  The scrappy little film with a lot of raunchy dialogue had me in stitches from the outlandish beginning to the very last scene during the credits.  Since it stars Melissa McCarthy, you may think I’m referring to her as she most always provides a good laugh, but how about pairing her up with the likes of Jason Statham.  No way you say because he’s an action star and why would he be in a comedy? Well, it’s genius that he’s cast in Spy as his performance gets so off-the-wall that it takes the film to another comedic level.

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) has been stuck in her job as an office drone since passing her test for Field Agent.  Guiding spies from the cellar of CIA headquarters has made her wonder what it would be like being in the center of a big covert ops mission. The agency gets word of a sale of a stolen nuke by arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) and has put the CIA on alert to intercede. They have also been warned that Rayna knows by sight all the operatives in the field.

Taking a chance, Deputy Director Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney) assigns inexperienced Susan on the mission in opposition of top operative Rick Ford (Jason Statham).  When Ford hears about it, he adamantly expresses she will screw it all up. When she goes into the field it’s a wild and nutty adventure of spy smart or die.

Director Paul Feig who has worked with McCarthy on Bridesmaids and The Heat puts her through her paces as the catalyst that initiates all the laughter and mayhem. He takes a chance on bringing in Jason Statham who’s known for his tough outer exterior and brazen films as McCarthy’s counterpart in the covert operation.  It’s a brilliant move as Statham has the chemistry to pull off the daring move.  Feig helps Statham hone his character into a frazzled spy that won’t be upstaged by a novice out of shape woman.  After all, she’s nothing more than a desk bound spy tracker. His determination forces sidesplitting mistakes in some very dicey situations.

Melissa McCarthy and Jason Statham are a stitch together. With Statham’s tough persona and McCarthy’s attitude the comical chemistry is over the top.  Who knew the actor who makes movie action violence his trademark could also pull off a very funny character as well? Throw in a measure of wacky comedy from Jude Law and I never realized how much my gut could hurt from laughing at the trio in Spy.

The whole cast works well together showing their talent for comedy.  While most of them have been in hits of the genre, here they look like they’re having a lot of fun doing it.  Remember Rose Byrne in Neighbors as the wife who lives next door to a frat house?  Well here she takes on the character of tough arms dealer Rayna Boyanov who has to deal with the antics of McCarthy and Statham. She makes an excellent straight person for the two to bounce off their argumentative personalities. Also in support Allison Janney (who worked with McCarthy in the film Tammy) works very nicely as the hardnosed Deputy Director who turns Susan loose on the terrorism plot.

Spy has been rated R by the MPAA for language throughout, violence and some sexual content including brief graphic nudity. Just a word of caution, Spy has a copious amount of trash mouth, vulgar comments, raw dialogue and sexual innuendos. Definitely not for purists and anyone under 17 years of age.

FINAL ANALYSIS: A very funny film with Melissa McCarthy pushing the envelope. (B+)