There’s something to be said for going into films with a positive attitude. That something is: “Try to go into films with a positive attitude.” In The Spy Who Dumped Me, the audience could probably tell from the first appearance of Hasan Minhaj that Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy wasn’t happening … and yet, I firmly contend that –despite being loaded with more cheese than a Green Bay Packers tailgate party- this film is a hoot if you give it a chance.
Pssst, nobody ask how old Mila Kunis is. We’re just gonna celebrate her birthday again and again and again and pretend it’s not weird that she’s single. Well, she’s not single, of course. Not until her rugged spy boyfriend, Drew (Justin Theroux), dumps her via text – which is probably a dick move even in the world of international espionage. What, you can jump out a building while people are shooting at you but you haven’t got the guts to tell her, “It’s over” to her face? Wuss.
Luckily, Kate McKinnon is Mila’s roommate. The chameleon-like McKinnon has learned real fast how movies are done. I was suspect when Ghostbusters happened; now Kate McKinnon is one of my favorite movie people. For Morgan (McKinnon), the idea of getting over a breakup text is having a random Slavic oaf objectify Audrey (Kunis). The resulting dick pics are forwarded to Morgan’s mom for comparison to bakery items. The Slavic oaf is out to kill Drew, as is most of the spy community. I found it both alarming and hysterical that a foreign spy isn’t above #MeToo-type harassment even in life or death situations.
Speaking of life or death, Drew buys it in the middle of a half-assed apology, but urges Audrey to take his sacred fantasy football trophy to a meetup in Vienna, Austria without him. Hmmm, that sounds like an insane movie contrivance, but we are in a movie, are we not? Hence, the adventures of Audrey and Morgan begin without anyone asking how the various intelligence communities managed to lose two women traveling abroad by air with their own passports. Also if this doesn’t happen, we’d miss out on the showcase of rising stars like Minhaj and Sam Heughan.
It would be easy to slam The Spy Who Dumped Me for any number of valid reasons, including title. But the film is laugh-out-loud funny if you give it a chance – or if perhaps you’re part of the infectious crowd like I was in. No, this isn’t fabulous art, yet I’ve seen too many comic thrillers to know this one is above average on both counts. Honestly? It’s no worse than the original Rush Hour and better than its two sequels. If The Spy Who Dumped #MeToo happens, I say, let it.
Editor’s note: This movie opened to the Scorpions “Winds of Change,” a very odd choice given the subject matter. Let me add perspective. If, say, in the middle of the My Little Pony movie, the cartoon equines broke into a chorus of “I Wanna Be Sedated” by The Ramones, well, yes, that would be more shocking, but a comedy opening to the strains of the veteran German metal rockers was … odd.
In lieu of a poem or song today, I’ve going to guess at sequel titles:
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- The Spy Who Subbed Me. In this version, Mila doesn’t get so much dumped as benched … in favor of a much hotter woman. How is that possible?
- The Spy Who Dubbed Me. Mila gets the Cyrano de Bergerac treatment cuz spymom doesn’t like her accent.
- The Spy Who Hugged Me. In this deliberately G-rated sequel, Mila and her new beau attack new lows in terms of body count and racy behavior. A heated argument almost ensues and our two leads nearly get to first base before the camera cuts to a dog catching a frisbee.
- The Spy Who Bugged Me. This time out, Mila’s man is jealous as he is hunky. Spying is taken to a much deeper and personal level.
- The Spy Who Eyed Me. A family road trip turns deadly when a game of “I Spy” gets out of control.
Rated R, 117 Minutes
Director: Susanna Fogel
Writer: Susanna Fogel, David Iserson
Genre: That thing where civilians suddenly become James Bond and we all pretend this is normal
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Feminists
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Real spies, I imagine
