Spy ****
Melissa McCarthy is an acquired comedic taste. We got a brief insight into her secret service ways when she accosted an air marshal in Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids (2011), which brought her to public attention. There was more to come with McCarthy laying down the law in Feig’s The Heat (2013) as a foul-mouthed Boston cop opposite Sandra Bullock’s uptight FBI Special Agent character.
–
Funnily enough, McCarthy tones it down her latest Feig collaboration, Spy, but only to begin with. She’s let lose again when she swaps desk work for field work as CIA analyst Susan Cooper. So expect all hell and McCarthy wrath to reign. Watch for her transformation into an American Dawn French lookalike too.
–
To overlook Spy as yet another McCarthy comedic vehicle is to do it an injustice. It’s actually a very funny pastiche of every spy-action movie out there, sent up by none other than British hard man, ‘Mr Transporter’ himself, Jason Statham at the fore as accident-prone spy Rick Ford. In fact, Statham steals the show as he lets lose funny line after funny line, all delivered in his usual menacing growl, while making a complete ass of himself in the process.
–
The pairing of McCarthy and Miranda Hart from BBC’s Miranda fame is a curious one. It feels a little stilted to start with, as though each funny lady is being too modest and polite about the other one taking the comedic lead. It’s only when the momentum gets going that each blossoms and their timing clicks into place.
–
This is helped by another Bridesmaid veteran, Rose Byrne, who is stereotypical in character as the villainous vixen, Rayna Boyanov, in this but is equally hilarious. It’s another Feig show of female comedic ingenuity that, regardless of the rehash of spy comedy tropes, puts the women in charge. Just check out the fight scene between Cooper and Lia (Nargis Fakhri), reminiscent of Kill Bill.
–
There are some entertaining performances from Jude Law as Bond-styled Bradley Fine, having a ball in a tux, while Peter Serafinowicz plays the most irritating continental spy, Aldo, with equal, gleeful campy affair. Feig certainly embraces the stereotype, which is why Statham’s Ford is a nice twist.
–
Spy is an espionage hoot with lots of action, silliness and Bond-style antics. It’s easy on the brain, consumable comedy with strong female leads that’s always a breath of fresh air in Hollywood – something Feig is instrumental in pursuing.
4/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
