Film Review: Spy (2015)
The longevity of the James Bond film series has been reflected, among other things, through an exceptionally large number of films that parody it in one way or another. Experience and statistics teach us that an overwhelming majority of these parodies are going to be of poor quality, so for every Austin Powers, there are hundreds of titles that have justifiably faded from memory. This doesn't mean that filmmakers shouldn’t keep trying. One of the more interesting of those efforts was Spy, the 2015 comedy directed by Paul Feig.
Feig had previously achieved great success with the comedies Bridesmaids and The Heat, which in both cases relied on the superb comedic talents of Melissa McCarthy, turning her into a big star. Therefore, it is not surprising that the lead role in the film was given to her. Given McCarthy's non-Bond-like gender and appearance, it is clear that the character she portrays will be non-Bond-like. This conventional protagonist role is initially entrusted to Jude Law, who plays the character of Bradley Fine, a suave yet dangerous CIA field operative who, in turn, cannot perform his spectacular actions without the help of Susan Cooper, a controller from the CIA headquarters. Cooper, played by McCarthy, is an overweight, unattractive, frustrated 40-year-old woman who feels a deep attachment to her charismatic colleague and is shocked when he is killed during an operation. Because the CIA database has been hacked, with the identities of all field agents compromised, Cooper gets the chance to avenge him. Since none of the bad guys know about the anonymous and unassuming bureaucrat, she is sent to Europe to try to locate Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), the daughter of a Bulgarian arms dealer, and discover to whom a suitcase nuclear bomb was supposed to be sold.
As with Bridesmaids, the script isn’t Feig's forte. In the case of Spy, this could be seen in the script’s poor quality, but also its extreme inconsistency and lack of cohesion. At the very beginning, the film looks as bad as it did in the trailer – a simple "high concept" comedy about an ugly office duckling who, by circumstance, turns into a ruthless spy operative (something closest to a swan in this case). The film lacks humour at the beginning, and too often everything is reduced to slapstick violence and bloodshed that should give it "Tarantino-esque" credentials. Many of the characters are empty and unconvincing, and even the protagonist's actions towards the main villain are not well explained. What saves the film is primarily Melissa McCarthy, who possesses exceptional talent but sometimes doesn't know how to use it adequately. In this case, however, her improvisations, especially in the absurd transformation from a humble official to a "hard-core" fighter, and the extremely creative use of vulgar vocabulary, hit the mark. The seemingly unnecessary entry of Jason Statham, who in Spy parodies the "cool" and "tough" guy characters on whom he has built his career, serves the film even better by establishing very good partnership dynamics with McCarthy. Spy will quickly fade from memory or, to be more precise, would have quickly faded from memory if it weren't for the brilliant Bond-like song "Who Can You Trust" performed by Ivy Levan. In the end, it can be recommended as one of the rare examples of a parody that somehow manages to fulfil its purpose.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original Croatian language version was posted here.)
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