Spy

After the disaster that was Tammy, it’s nice to see Melissa McCarthy being funny again.

McCarthy stars as Susan – a CIA desk analyst who, via drones and satellites, performs as the eyes, ears and brains for a top notch CIA field agent, Bradley Fine (Jude Law). The two make a great pair, even though most of the field agents mock Susan and her desk analyst cohorts, who reside in the agency’s basement.

Bradley and Susan have been trying to track down a stolen nuclear bomb before it can be sold to terrorists who plan to use it in New York City, and all leads seem to point to Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne). However, our superspy ends up on the wrong end of things, and the CIA discovers it is because someone has infiltrated the agency and exposed all of the undercover field agents.

With nowhere else to turn, and seeking to get vengeance for Bradley, Susan steps up to help find the bomb, since no one knows who she is.

Is Susan up to the task?

Where is that nuclear bomb?

Spy doesn’t have the biggest laughs of the summer, but it might have the most giggles as the comedy keeps flowing from start to finish. What it lacks in genius, it makes up for in consistent amusement.

Writer/director Paul Feig delivers a James Bond parody, but is smart enough to make it a Melissa McCarthy vehicle as well. Action movie fans will enjoy the spy stuff as Bradley Fine suavely lives the type of lifestyle full of danger and excitement you would expect to see in a Bond film (complete with cheesy comebacks and one-liners), and Feig wonderfully inserts the stock scenes of checking out the new equipment or visiting the casino (with nice twists to make it comical), but McCarthy saves Spy from being yet another spy movie parody.

McCarthy makes it a film about the underdog overcoming stereotypes, misconceptions, prejudice and her own fear to kick some booty, and the crowd appreciates it every step along the way. She is perfect at capturing Susan’s innermost pain and trepidation, but always adding something to make it bitterly comical.

Then, she shows us Susan’s growing, improving self-image leading to her evolving into the lady you do not want to meet in a dark alley, or face when she is spewing invective at you. She becomes the mouse who roars, which will lead some to opine about Spy being some sort of empowerment movie with a massive message, but let’s just enjoy an actress doing what she does best – making us laugh as we relate to her character’s struggles. Not everything has to be a message (that’s what Facebook is for).

Law might be having some campy fun, but it’s Jason Statham who emerges from Spy as the comic revelation. As he adds to the hijinks, Jason Statham further proves Jason Statham can do whatever Jason Statham wants. You will be giggling, guffawing and dropping your popcorn as he portrays the overzealous agent who doubts and mocks Susan at every step with amazing intensity, and plays the perfect straight man who takes himself and everything he says seriously, even though it is ridiculous and makes us laugh, especially as he recounts his exploits in the field without a sense of irony or humility.

I don’t know why so many British people work for the CIA in this movie, but maybe it is best not to ask questions.

Spy is rated R for language throughout, violence, and some sexual content including brief graphic nudity.