Movie Review - Spy

Spy ***½ (out of 5) (R) Since Sean Connery wowed the world as Agent 007 in 1962’s Dr. No, there have been over 20 more James Bond films, exceeding the number of Ian Fleming’s source novels about England’s suave superspy. Broadening the tribute, there have probably been even more Bond spoofs, dating back to Woody Allen’s 1967 Casino Royale, followed shortly by James Coburn’s two campy outings as studly agent Derek Flint. But no one could have predicted the passing of that comedic torch to apple-cheeked Melissa McCarthy, backed by Jude Law and Jason Statham. Or that Paul Feig could make it all work so well. He’d struck gold with her as a supporting player in Bridesmaids, but fizzled pairing her with Sandra Bullock for The Heat.

The film opens like an actual Bond flick, with Law crashing an elegant party at a Bulgarian mansion to wrest a stolen nuke from a wealthy megavillain, preceding a Bond-style song behind the Bond-style titles. McCarthy plays his skilled supporting techie of 10 years, monitoring his moves from the bowels of her dreary CIA offices. She also has a Moneypenny-sized crush on her field agent. When he gets killed by the bad guy’s successor, his rich-bitch daughter (Rose Byrne), the trained, but untested, McCarthy is sent to Europe to follow the players and the bomb they’re hawking to the highest bidder. Surveillance leads to contact, which leads to a manic chase around the continent, complete with feints and double-crosses aplenty.

The main surprise is that McCarthy fares better as a lead than she has since moving up from her TV sitcom. She handles both slapstick and dialog deftly, fleshing out a likeably hilarious protagonist in a cascade of over-the-top situations. Next would be Statham’s willingness to play the fool - a hyperactive agent who’s either gone nuts, or may have always been somewhat short on sanity, after kicking so many butts so deftly as the star of the Transporter trio and other lighthearted-to-serious action fare. If you’re in the mood for zany summer antics, free from any burdens of mental stimulation, this one’s a safe bet. And lots of laughs. (6/5/15)

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