Rental Review - Spy

Spy (2015), R, 119 minutes - Our rental of The Gallows Friday night earned us a freebie from Redbox, so last night my wife and I decided to change things up a bit with this comedy starring Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, Allison Janney, and Miranda Hart.  The aptly named Spy is probably the best mockery of the super spy genre since Austin Powers, although it doesn't quite go full-parody.  It finds itself more in the homage/parody range similar to films like Hot Fuzz (2007) or 21 Jump Street (2012).

Susan Cooper (McCarthy) is an analyst working in the 'basement' of the CIA.  She acts as eyes and ears for super secret agent Bradley Fine (Law) when he's in the field.  A mission mis-hap by Fine leads to the death a weapons dealer who knows the location of a stolen portable nuclear bomb.  In an attempt to right his wrong, Fine tracks down the dealer's daughter Rayna Boyanov (Byrne).  Cooper believes that finding Boyanov was too easy and that they are being set up.  Fine proceeds anyway and finds himself ambushed by Boyanov.  Just before shooting Fine, Boyanov leaves a message for the CIA: she knows the identities of several of their best under-cover agents (including Statham's Rick Ford).  Feeling partly responsible for Fine's death, and with the covers of the CIA's best agents blown, Susan volunteers to go under-cover to obtain intel on Boyanov and help determine the location of the stolen nuke.   Director Elaine Crocker (Janney) learns that Cooper graduated at the top of her class at the academy ten years earlier and decides to let her go into the field.  Cooper proves to be a bit rusty but finds herself getting in deeper and deeper as she inadvertently gains Boyanov's trust.  Working with fellow analyst Nancy B. Artingstall (Hart), Cooper bumblingly and brilliantly infiltrates Boyanov's inner circle to save the day.

Spy is the latest collaboration with McCarthy from director Paul Feig (after Bridesmaids and The Heat) and also includes other familiar faces like Morena Baccarin, Will Yun Lee, and Bobby Cannavale. The R rating is due primarily to the inclusion of a ton of profanity, most of which is courtesy of over-the-top insults spewed between Cooper and Ford or Cooper and Boyanov.  As long as you aren't totally offended by language, this is a fun film that provides more than its fair share of laughs.

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