SPY is #SpyTacular
Here we have the latest from Melissa McCarthy, the actress who stole our hearts as well as the attention of Oscar™ in “Bridesmaids” and was back-breakingly hilarious in “The Heat” (alongside Sandra Bullock). She also continues to bring on the laughs in CBS’ “Mike & Molly” — but here she is the central figure in 20th Century Fox’s brilliant new comedy slash spy-thriller aptly titled “Spy”. McCarthy stars as Susan Cooper, a CIA sidekick who has basically evolved into a somewhat dodgy administrative assistant to Agent Bradley Fine (expertly played with panache by Jude Law). She is locked away in an underground rodent-infested government office which in and of itself acts as great comic relief. Acting as Agent Fine’s secondary set of spy-eyes (er, surveillance) she manages to short-cut him from harms way almost as if she is playing a video game from 5000 miles away.
This flick was a rollercoaster of action peppered with belly laughs that were limitless. I had to double-check runpee.com beforehand as to not miss one minute of the action - and they called it correctly - you will be locked in your seat for the entirety of the 117 minute run-time, that includes the end credits - don’t walk out of the theater people!
When an important mission involving Agent Fine goes awol and CIA boss Agent Elaine Crocker seeks someone to take over the case (well played by veteran actor Allison Janney) Susan Cooper steps immediately up to the plate as Agent Cooper - and as her training reels from a decade previous show her skills may be a bit off - but her passion for this particular mission is ready to roll. The conference room scene is where the hilarious story shift becomes real (pink eye and all - wink wink). And there are too many amazing alternative personas that she will undertake, each with more and more stereotypical gaudiness - it’s delicious to watch Agent Cooper morph from biddy to babe and back to basic in the same scene.
So, let me count the ways this works. First off, it is a true mash-up of comedy with 007-like intrigue, spills, chills and great car vs. Vespa chases! The acting by co-stars Rose Byrne and Miranda Hart was truly superb, their characters were believable and stylized. Jason Statham showed his awkward comedic side to a fault and came out of it almost completely unscathed as a bit of a bumbling, macho agent. But it’s McCarthy who takes center stage and runs to the edge with it. Her stop-n-start approach to comedic timing, along with her physical presence is not only refreshing in this role, but down to an art form that will keep your cheshire smile blazing for days. McCarthy has a fluidity of screen presence that will stun many this time around. It has righteously raunchy at times, and we wouldn’t want it any other way. If you want to laugh until you cry see “Spy”!
Opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow.