Spy – Movie Review by C.K. MacNamara

Director/Writer: Paul Feig

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Jessica Chaffin

Satirical spin offs of popular movies are one of the many unfortunate by-products of modern cinema, and more often than not fail to grasp the films they attempt to parody. So it is with a tip of the hat to Writer/Director Paul Feig that Spy, a James Bond filtered parody in the style of Johnny English, has enough substance to stray from the Aston Martin and stand on its own merits.

With Jason Statham and Rose Byrne in tow Melissa McCarthy stars in the spy spoof, which blends slapstick and hit-and-miss humour with the Daniel Craig formula of exotic locations and ultra-violence.

CIA agent Susan Cooper is a behind the scenes desk jockey in service to the classic super spy protagonist. When he is killed mid mission and the identities of the CIA’s top agents are compromised, the agency scrambles to find a serviceable agent. And so the inconsequential Cooper is wheeled out of her cubicle to try her hand at field work.

McCarthy herself has a career that has often run counter to the conventional Hollywood route; heavy set and relegated to supporting roles, her Bridesmaids performance has finally tipped her into the lead role, which she takes to with relish. The supporting performance of Jason Statham as the self-parody action hero keeps the film fresh and funny, even in its most floundering moments.

Bouncing around exotic locations with a blend of slapstick and attitude, the films humour ultimately lands on the favourable end of the hit-or-miss ratio. The cheesy slapstick is bizarrely interjected with grotesque violence, and while impalements and broken necks are nothing controversial in modern cinema the shift from Three Stooges to snapped spines is jarring at the best of times.

The result is a grimy layer that the films finer points struggle to shine through, ultimately successfully mainly thanks to McCarthy and Statham’s stellar self-parodying performances.