It’s not like I’ve been waiting a while … but I have been waiting for the Melissa McCarthy who was awesome in Bridesmaids to return. Oh, yeah, here she is. Here’s somebody I want to root for. Look, I’m not going to go into what’s wrong with Tammy or The Heat or Identity Thief. Suffice to say – a lot of screen time has not translated to smiles. Spy is different.
Spy introduces Susan Cooper (McCarthy, and not the author of The Dark Is Rising) as the omniscient personal observer/earpiece of undercover agent Bradley Fine (Jude Law, despite the forced American accent, is clearly auditioning her for his turn at James Bond). Fine’s dependence on Cooper is obvious as are her talents; with just heat signature blobs, how does she know which are the bad guys and what they’re about to do? Well, let’s just assume she does. Cooper herself is obsequious and deferential; you’d never guess that she was a trained agent in her own right. I didn’t, at least. I thought she was just really good at the protection racket. The highlight of this adventure is the infestation within control center. Hard to protect an active agent when there’s a bat in your hair.
Fine’s second attempt at tracking a mobile mini-nuke ends in disaster, compounded by Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) calling out four CIA agents. Oh, no! There are only four agents in the CIA! But wait! Susan is an agent, too! Yes, the premise is stupid, but it all sets up as series of hilarious scenes in which, first, another agent (Jason Statham balks at the suggestion. Unlike Law, agent Statham gets to be English. What’s up with that? Did the CIA and MI6 have some sort of spy exchange program going on? Then we get to see a training video in which a younger version of Cooper goes to town on a demo. Finally, there’s the priceless undercover accoutrement, in which CIA Director Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney) has deliberately disguised Cooper in the most demeaning ways imaginable – old lady wig, cat sweater, weaponry hidden in stool softener and the coup de grâce – a laser beam watch, yes, but with an outward face displaying a poster from the film Beaches.
The best parts of Spy are when Cooper gets to drop the façade at work as Boyanov’s bodyguard. The in-charge and dominant Melissa McCarthy shines in this role as the audience slowly realizes, in a shoot-em-up, the screenplay is running out of men. In-between knife fights, she belittles opponents; my favorite
insult being when she accuses Boyanov of dressing like a “slutty dolphin trainer.” Do I quibble here about the thrice instances in which Cooper chases on foot? Look, I grant you that a well-trained McCarthy could beat the shit out of me, but she’s never going to beat me in a footrace. It’s a comedy, so I’ll let it slide, but there’s lazy writing/directing here, Paul Feig.
So I’m at a loss here. After watching Melissa McCarthy flounder through roles comic in name only, she is fantastic here – and she’s a beacon for empowerment in the process. While I would hope my daughter took nothing from any of the three films mentioned above, I’ll happily show her Spy and let her draw her own conclusions.
Desk jockey Susan helps fights that are not hers
Suddenly she becomes a role model for daughters
Melissa makes a poor sitter
A would be gov hitter?
She can start by taking out her old characters
Rated R, 120 Minutes
D: Paul Feig
W: Paul Feig
Genre: The rare Parody of Empowerment
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: The glass ceiling aware
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Real spies, I imagine
