Review: 'Spy' (2015)

Twentieth Century Fox

Power couple? I wouldn’t go that far but the relationship between Paul Fieg and Melissa McCarthy and their comedic collaborations at the cinema in recent years have gained plenty of attention. Fieg has seem to find his go to as his first three directorial efforts now have featured McCarthy in a big way and his Ghostbuster reboot is also set to have her involved. But for now, Spy is the duos latest project. Even though Spy, a spoof on the espionage genre, maybe be Fiegs most outlandish effort yet it still shows a level of reserve and resistant’s to being an all-out mockery of something but instead choosing to focus more on its lead character, allowing McCarthy to take charge as a result.

McCarthy’s Susan Cooper is technically the title character but things do not start out this way. Susan is an agent for the CIA, working under humorless director Elaine Crocker (Allison Janney), but only at a computer, feeding important information into the ear of a field agent. The field agent she assists is Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a sleek, confident and skilled agent. It is not until Agent Fine is killed on a mission and the fear that other agent’s identities, including Jason Stratham as Agent Ford, are blown that Susan becomes a field agent for the first time as she attempts to finish the mission that Fine started.

Susan is no slouch when it comes being a respectable agent but the fact that she is embarking on something that she has little experience at like what comes with being a field agent makes this a fish-out-water type of story. Spy, while an obvious spoof on the genre that it shares its name with, chooses to focus more on aspects of its lead character and her journey within the story rather that making a point to constantly remind you that this is a satire of the genre.

Susan is thrown into a situation that she must be quick on her feet or think outside the box. When this takes place, things are at their most refreshing point. Even though Susan is doing things she has never had to do before as an undercover agent, a strong and smart individual still comes through. At the same time though she is grieving but also redeeming Fine and in the process realizes that she wasn’t as special to him as he was to her. Feig weaves these character aspects through his humorously toned atmosphere seamlessly; never weighing things down with sentimental mush but adding just enough heart and soul to the character and story that helps contain an otherwise outlandish experience.   

McCarthy in role is allowed to take over the picture unlike never before and once again Feig gets a highly entertaining performance. What makes McCarthy such a valuable comedic actor is how she is able to be the self-cautious or confident character and bring the same level of humor either way. With Spy’s Susan she is able to showcase this range as the role requires her to be the ‘fish out of water’ but also the one in charge when she is undercover. Because of this, she has no trouble completing the task of moving the film along in a way that you have no problem seeing what is in store next for Susan scene after scene.

With that said though, it would be unfair to Jason Statham and Miranda Hart to say that McCarthy does it all. Statham as the disgruntled Agent Ford, strongly disagreeing with the decision to put Susan in the field, gives one of his more humorously entertaining performances. Ford makes it clear that his way of doing things is always the extreme and as he often explains his methods and past experiences with great detail and Statham gives each of these explanations the right level of anger and frustration charged energy needed. However, it is Hart that brings the most energy as Nancy. Nancy is to Susan as Susan was to Agent Fine. As Nancy, Hart plays loose to McCarthy’s straight (if you can believe that) and it couldn’t work out better. Whether it is 50 Cent falling for Nancy or her non-work related commentary when guiding Susan, Hart in the role never lets up on the gas with the her bubbly persona, making the funny things she says even better.

With Spy, Feig makes it clear, if he hadn’t already, that the projects he takes on are going to feature a central theme. Leading the way in a Feig picture is a funny but also a strong and smart woman or women and while I do not need to tell you how great this is, it is noteworthy considering this is happening within the comedy genre. In a genre dominated by men and their buddy cop premises (a subject Feig has already took on), to see women given these chances to not just prove how funny they can be but absolutely crush it at times is as meaningful as the jokes they are landing which says a lot.                          

Grade: B