© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'Spy' Is Not A Typical Spoof

Spy is not just another spy spoof, a genre which I tired of quite some time ago. Spy is more lighthearted and less plot-oriented than most, and since it stars Melissa McCarthy, it can't get too close to James Bond imitations.

It is surprising, however, how adept McCarthy-- girlish giggles and all-- is at hand-to-hand combat, a lot of which does seem to be done by McCarthy herself. A lot of Spy just goes through the typical routines without regard to McCarthy's weight, and the result is comical just because of the physical incongruity.

A lot of plot and dialogue got away from me, but the spy movies it is laughing at are usually full of illogicalities and plot holes themselves, so not much damage is done. The individual scenes so closely imitate the usual stuff that you are never seriously puzzled as to what is going on at the moment. It's good, brainless fun, and McCarthy's infamous potty mouth didn't bother me. The audience laughed at it, but I preferred stuff like, "You kiss like a toothless old lady trying to suck the jelly out of a doughnut."

And it isn't all Melissa McCarthy. Rose Byrne is a hoot as one of those glamorous-but-icy Dragon Lady types, and Jason Statham plays it just a little over the top as one of those last-second rescuers who keep popping up from off-screen, whether or not it makes any sense at all. There are some James Bond-type gadgets, and be sure to stay through the closing credits-- I think I see hints of some sequels, which, in the case of Spy, I would welcome.