Spy: Movie Review

Writer/director Paul Feig teams up with his “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” star Melissa McCarthy for the new spy-comedy “Spy” which co-stars Rose Byrne, Jude Law, and Jason Statham. McCarthy who’s big-screen success has been hit-or-miss seems to fare best when working with Feig. The very unfunny “Identity Thief” and “Tammy” are proof of that. “Spy” does have a number of laughs but it is definitely the weakest of his feature films.

Susan Cooper (McCarthy) is a desk-bound CIA Agent who has never seen any first hand action. Instead she guides super-spy Bradley Fine (Law) through all of his missions as the voice in his ear-piece. She helps keep Fine alive and together they make a fantastic team. Cooper also happens to be secretly in love with Fine. All of that changes when Cooper helps guide Fine into the home of Rayna Boyanov (Byrne)in search of a stolen bomb, only to witness him being shot to death by their target.

Not only has Fine been taken out, but Boyanov now has the identities of all CIA field agents. Because Cooper has never been in the field before, she is the perfect/only agent that can shadow Boyanov without being recognized. Fellow agent Rick Ford (Statham) is not all too happy about Cooper going on assignment, but he is also not the sharpest tool in the shed either.

Most of the laughs in “Spy” come within the film’s first hour but then begins to run out of steam. I found myself lightly chuckling more than all out laughing. Law is actually one of the best things in “Spy” and it’s a shame he doesn’t have as much screen time as I would have hoped. One of the best scenes takes place in a fancy restaurant where Cooper and Fine share a nice post-mission dinner.

“Spy” is a decent comedy and definitely funnier that anything out there right now. If you like the cast and you want a few laughs then this one is worth checking out, just don’t expect too much.

By: Marc Ferman