'Spy' - Movie Review

'Spy' - Movie Review

'Spy'
A; Action/Comedy
Director: Paul Feig
Cast: Mellissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jude Law, Jason Statham, Nargis Fakhri
Rating:

Poster of 'Spy'. Pic/Santa Banta

Paul Feig was the unsung hero of the late ‘90s - he was responsible for the hilarious short-lived TV show ‘Freaks and Geeks' and then went on to direct some of the funniest episodes of ‘The Office'. The world finally got to know of him when he delivered the outrageously funny ‘Bridesmaids' a few years ago, a movie that single handedly reinvented the ‘chick flicks' genre.

He followed that up with the less impressive ‘The Heat' a couple of years ago, but it looks like he's back in form - his latest film ‘Spy' is every bit as funny and hilarious as ‘Bridesmaids', and it brings back Melissa McCarthy in her funniest performance to date.

McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, an operative working in the CIA in Langely. But she's not a spy - she's the assistant, or rather the subordinate of the real spy played by Jude Law. Susan's desk job is to do housekeeping and render useful info to her spy boss. Soon enough, a mission is compromised that blows the cover off the agency's spies, and the only way the CIA can thwart a villain with a nuclear weapon (played by Rose Byrne) is by enlisting an unknown operative. Needless to say, hilarity follows.

What is surprising about ‘Spy' is that it isn't really a chick flick but a chick flick version of any Seth Rogen-James Franco movie. There's a ton of low-brow humour, and some of it of course makes light of McCarthy's weight, and expletives are hurled every thirty seconds. But the jokes come thick and fast, and they're all good natured rather than crass. There have been plenty of movies already where someone who isn't trained for the spy job is put into the mission which will save the world, but ‘Spy' rises above them with the way the humour is rendered. The James Bond spoofing is done with a lot of charm and the mission itself is so funny you'll have a hard time keeping a straight face.

Speaking of which, Jason Statham makes an extended cameo lobbing straight-faced one-liners with pitch perfect comic timing. The rest of the supporting cast of Bobby Cannavale, Allison Janney, Peter Serafiniwicz, Morena Baccarin is superb as well, each having their own funny moment. Nargis Fakhri is passable but not noticeable as such, but with McCarthy hogging the limelight steamrolling everything else in the movie down, it's hard to complain. If you're in need of laughs in this horrible rain, ‘Spy' delivers with style.