Spy (2015)

[Nostalgia]

very well written & directed . A.

[sambullus]

Oh well, looks like I'm going to be the unpopular one.

 Film is far too long and the pacing is flawed. There are some funny moments, but many of the jokes fall flat. McCarthy becomes less and less likable and plausible as the film goes on. Jude law's performance is cringeworthy and would be even without the crappy wig. The plot makes no sense, which wouldn't matter if the film was funny enough to distract you.

 On the plus side Byrne is spot on and Miranda Hart brings an energy to the film that it doesn't deserve. The film's version of the Q scene is funny.

 Statham's caricature of his screen persona is great, but the crappy writing squanders him.

  It just feels like an inferior rip off of Get Smart

[ChD]

The second half of this movie had me laughing with tears. I don't really like Stathan, but he was pretty awesome in this movie. Same for McCarthy. Also... Rose Byrne. Dear god. My heart couldn't handle her performance in this movie.

[The47th]

Great film, superior to The Heat and in my opinion, more rounded than Bridesmaids.

 

Everything is superb: cast, script and direction, although I found the scene when Susan follows the car on her scooter a little confusing due to the editing.

 

It just keeps surprising you every few minutes, introducing characters or adding twists to the plot. I found fascinating Susan's transformation into her bodyguard persona. It was refreshing while not feeling implausible.

 

It seriously is the best comedy I've seen in years, and probably the best secret agent spoof film I've ever seen.

 

A

[Gautske]

I think I'll weigh in with an unpopular opinion as well.

 

Having missed Bridesmaids (didn't sound like my kind of movie), I did manage to see The Heat and part of Tammy within the last couple of weeks, and I didn't find Melissa McCarthy and her act particularly funny. Based on WOM and good reviews, hesitatingly, I decided to see Spy last week anyway. I enjoyed the first (maybe the second as well) Austin Powers movies more than I would care to admit and hoped this might be a similar situation with another spy spoof. Even though I haven't particularly followed/watched most of Paul Feig's work over the last decade or so, I still remember him fondly from what he and Judd Apatow did on Freaks & Geeks. Unfortunately, I think Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy just maybe aren't my thing after this latest outing.

 

I have to say that my instinctive aversion to low-brow, toilet humor (bodily fluids are far more "yuck" than "yuk" for me) raunch comedy should have been heeded. I'm not necessarily put-off by off-color, politically incorrect, foul-mouthed humor, but much like South Park, I find it very hit-or-miss. Contrary to what many defenders of McCarthy accuse many of her detractors having a problem with, her sex and weight matter little to the fact that her act is really just a crude, one-note display of audacity — at least in her last several movies (it's hard not to be reminded that this might be this generation's Roseanne Barr). I applaud Feig for promoting feminist themes and anchoring these features with the untraditional McCarthy, but I can only take so much of this foul-mouthed schtick.

 

For the movie, I was pleasantly surprised to see the opening display a much more toned-down McCarthy playing it far more straight and non-confrontational than the above mentioned movies. Some have showered praise over how she doesn't rely on fat jokes and the like to get laughs, but I still found the humor relying too much on her own self-deprecation and frumpy appearance/mousey demeanor. Contrary to the jovial mood the movie aims for, I felt too much pity for Susan Cooper (McCarthy) early on to know if I would be laughing with her or at her. Luckily (or perhaps not), I found much of it unfunny anyway with jokes/gags that fall flat.

 

As the movie is a spy spoof (I think?), the premise of the movie and hokey opening sequence with the agent, Bradley Fine (Jude Law), can be forgiven, but I didn't feel the ultra-suave 007 vibe exemplified by Law, and I found the scenes between McCarthy and Law just kind of uncomfortable. McCarthy's relationship with fellow CIA desk nerd/agent, Nancy Artingstall (Miranda Hart) perhaps was perhaps a little too heavy but tolerable.       

 

I found Jason Statham and his portrayal of agent, Rick Ford, to be one of the few rays of sunshine as he plays a foil to Cooper as a parody of the action roles we've grown accustomed to him assuming. Unfortunately, we don't see enough of him, and when we do, it seems to be a bit random, and he seemingly grows more incompetent as the movie progresses. Still, he's one of the brighter spots.

 

The other notable star in the film is Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). She plays the villain, so to speak, with a series of contrived circumstances leading to McCarthy and Byrne sharing a lot of screen time together. By the time this happens though, McCarthy has dispensed with the meek Susan Cooper persona, and is in full foul-mouthed, in-your-face Melissa McCarthy mode that her fans have come to love. Byrne and McCarthy spend most of their time hurling insults and lecherous looks at each other. Great if you're on board, not so much if you're not.

 

In lieu of plot development, we spend more time focusing on spy gadgets that take the form of embarrassing hygiene products, vomit/sexual gags, and silly, cartoonish violence because this is a R-rated spy movie after all. By the time everything gets moving, it's hard to keep track what exactly is going on with this story. Big Bad, Sergio De Luca (Bobby Cannavale), seems almost like an afterthought to the barbs arranged for Byrne and McCarthy, as well as McCarthy and her pervy, Italian contact... guy... played by... someone. Other new characters are introduced and killed off before you realize who they even were, but it doesn't matter because we're just looking for a semi-coherent setup so we can have hilarious hijinks/exchanges between McCarthy and whomever happens to be around.

 

What begins and progresses as a mediocre spy/spoof movie transforms into non-sensical, spy caper with physical comedy, low-brow gags, and burning zingers that compels the audience to completely trade logic for laughter. My audience seemed to be in on the joke as I was trying to figure out who such-and-such was and whether such-and-such was a double or triple agent until I realized I'm investing way more brainpower in a story than even Paul Feig and copany did. I really wanted this movie to be as smart as some champions have suggested. Perhaps it goes down more smoothly if this brand of humor hits your funny bone, but if it doesn't, you're in for an agonizingly long wait as the way-longer-than-it-should-be movie plays out. 

 

I wished the film had committed itself to one direction or the other from the get-go. It could be a semi-serious spy parody or just another tawdry vehicle for McCarthy and her co-stars to score cheap laughs. I would have appreciated the former much more, but I would at least be able to check out much earlier in the latter scenario without the extra added aggravation of trying to make sense of this hot mess. I still haven't been able to find anyone who could explain to me what exactly was happening during the final act, but all I've gotten is the kind of Jurassic World equivalent explanation of, "Who cares?! DINOSAURS!" type response.

 

Not to say this movie doesn't have its bright moments here and there, particularly Statham, but I find this movie peaks early and goes downhill relatively quickly. Though, I really blame myself, I let the "certified fresh" rating and two or three reviews bamboozle me into setting aside my recent The Heat and Tammy viewing experiences. Lesson learned.

 

Mr. Feig, lady ghostbusters, forgive me if I sit your next effort out. It's not the estrogen I find repellant, but the thought of seeing Slimer replaced by an apparition that... instead of slime... douses a ghostbuster in... DIARRHEA.... which, ghost poo being disgusting and all, leads to a gratuitous vomit scene and... HILARITY ensues. Um, yeah, no thanks. The fact I can't rule this out, makes this decision rather easy.

 

Spy very generous C- 

[Harpospoke]

Oh ....my....god...

 

Why didn't I watch this movie quicker?   Jesus that was funny!   My poor ribs...

 

I see a lot of other people are also impressed with Statham.   I'm doubly impressed because the ability to excel at comedy impresses me more than anything else.   The list of dramatic actors who can do comedy is much shorter than the list of comedy actors who can do drama.  An actor can be decent at drama and the scene will still work, but you are either good at comedy or the scene fails completely.  There is no "almost funny".

 

And Statham is funny.    By the end of the movie he had me in tears.   When he's falling from the helicopter and yells "I knew you would f**k this up!" I was paralyzed.   New respect for the Statham.   He's got timing and can deliver a funny line with the best of them.   edit:   Favorite line was his answer to the question about his suit:   "I made it didn't I!"

 

I'll also echo the praise for Byrne.   She was an epic b*tch.   She kept surprising me every time I expected her to be one thing, she took it to new heights of a-hole.

 

McCarthy is consistently funny to me and I love her character.   And it's her character....no one else on the planet can play it but her.   It says something for Statham and Byrne that she is my 3rd favorite character.    Kinda nice that she got to be a little glamorous in this.

 

I didn't realize this had a Ghost Busters connection...glad to hear that.   I was looking forward to that anyway.

 

A

Edit 2:  I think I might enjoy this more with a second viewing because I wasn't expecting the Statham character to be what he was and it took me a while to "get him".

PS: I also gave it a 1/10 at IMDB. But I'll confess that was done on purpose. I do so with every film I hate - especially if it is as incredibly overhyped as this one. (And for the wrongfully mistreated movies I always vote 10/10.) I like to think that I can make a difference this way.

Well now I know why IMDB rankings are so wacky.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Harpospoke

[Leyla]

  Serdyuchka cameo made the whole crowd lol big time next time I expect Conchita Wurst to debut on the big screen  

Along with that the was self moking Statham & obviouslymy gal Rose. Glad she's in another BO successful move. & the one I actually like. Go Rose!

 

Tho the film posesses the usual flaw of US comedies - unfunny stuff to me like puking & other toilet humour which to me is the reason to mark overall A film into into an A-

 

 

+HW still doesnt know how Chechen ppl actually look & cast someone like typical bad russian (I wish he was smarter )

[darkelf]

I lost it for half a minute when Statham said "You. Times infinity." Great line delivery there.

 

Beside him, everything else was pretty good too, it's maybe a bit too long but it's consistently funny so whatever.

 

8/10

[Kosko]

I wish they'd tone down Melissa McCarthy. She'd be so much funnier if her schtick wasn't so over the top. It borders on obnoxious at times.

[Omario]

Hilarious movie. Loved it. McCarthy is amazing as usual. Is there anyone that can curse better than her on screen? Byrne just steals every scene she is in. Extremely talented actress. Statham was the surprise here though. I think this is probably the best i have ever seen him. Pretty much every line he uttered i was holding my stomach in laughter. 

 

Cant wait for a sequel

 

A

[Joel M]

I don't know if it's better the Bridesmaids, but watching this movie I understand what was missing from The Heat. That movie had a pretty basic script or no script at all really, it was McCarthy-Bullock riffing off of each other for two hours, it was carried entirely by the 2 stars and nothing else. 

 

Spy had a pretty great script. It never gets too much wink-wink with the references or turns into an outright spoof. It's a comedy homage to the spy genre really with very subtle brilliant touches like the opening James Bond song which sounds legit enough for a "real" spy movie if you don't pay attention but the lyrics are nonsensical faux poetic phrases stringed together, not much different than many Bond songs actually. The action sequences are also very good, especially the kitchen fight was close to Hot Fuzz level action/comedy. But in the end it is a movie that has characters and tries to tell a coherent empowering story and it does surprisingly well. I was pretty sure that in the end Rose Byrne would die in a hilarous over the top way and that Jude Law would fall in love with McCarthy and she'll turn him down. But it was way more nuanced and fresh.

 

At last the casting was brilliant. McCarthy has a great character to play and she's very good, but it's the supporting cast that it's the real triumph. Statham, Byrne and Miranda Hart were HILARIOUS.

 

 

-Rick Ford: You really think you're ready for the field? I once used defibrillators on myself. I put shards of glass in my fuckin' eye. I've jumped from a high-rise building using only a raincoat as a parachute and broke both legs upon landing; I still had to pretend I was in a fucking Cirque du Soleil show! I've swallowed enough microchips and shit them back out again to make a computer. This arm has been ripped off completely and re-attached with *this* fuckin' arm.

Susan Cooper: I don't know that that's possible... I mean medically...

 

 

[baumer]

That's gotta be the funniest exchange in the film.  Brilliant.

 

I really hope Byrne gets some Oscar consideration this year.

[Joel M]

 

I really hope Byrne gets some Oscar consideration this year.

 

I think it's impossible. She won't even be in the conversation. McCarthy did it for Bridesmaids but that movie was a bigger and way more out of the left field surprise hit and it had 1000 "are women funny" thinkpieces to back its "importance".

 

Spy did what is expected from a McCarthy vehicle at this point boxoffice wise. The self-serious people that vote for awards will never vote a brilliant comedic performance just for being a brilliant comedic performance. I would totally vote for her.

[TStechnij]

She isn't on my ballot because this season is tough, but it is a great comedic performance.

She actually plays the dramatic character of the 2016 THE MEDDLER that premiered at TIFF. I think that is probably the comedy of the decade. So damn fun and has great emotional heft. She is fabulous and Sarandon is GENUIS. I can't wait for you guys to see this.

[TheMovieman]

Eh, I'm not a Melissa McCarthy fan and this is just the latest example. I thought it was way too long, there were times I almost dozed off, and I laughed maybe once. Like Gautske, it's apparent the comedy style for Feig and McCarthy is not my thing. Statham at least was OK I guess, though his schtick was a line-O-rama and Byrne is hot and was the most interesting person of the bunch. I will say, McCarthy at least wasn't as annoying and not nearly as obnoxious so the movie has that going for it...

 

**/*****, (D+, 4.0/10, 1.75/4)

[4815162342]

Very funny. As mentioned, casting Statham in that role was genius.

[Blankments]

Spy is a comedy that actually works better as it's subgenre. I certainly enjoy it much more for the spy story than the antics, which are hit-and-miss, but the hits are really big. Rose Byrne continues her comedic dominance, and McCarthy hits a lot of her jokes too. Statham is a bit overloved in it but still pretty funny. The action is really well done for a non-action movie, and Feig's direction is excitingly innovative for American comedy. Spy is a lot of fun, and hopefully the start of a new franchise with its fun ensemble and good jokes. B-