My first interaction with Spy, Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy latest collaboration, was while waiting outside of the bathrooms at my local Cinemark. While doing my normal (totally not creepy) people watching, my eye was drawn to an enormous 3D standee depicting Jude Law, Jason Statham and Melissa McCarthy falling to the ground and firing a pistol while looking like someone's crazy aunt, complete with grey wig, enormous glasses and a pink t-shirt with a cat's face on it. I rolled my eyes. "Great," I thought, "another riff on her character in The Heat and Bridesmaids - a caricature given just enough emotional nuance by the end to make her seem like a real human being." (Okay, I don't really talk to myself like that, but just give me this one.) But after seeing the positivity pouring out from critics, I thought, "Well, I'd rather see this than Entourage."
And to my surprise, not only does Spy subvert expectations and conventions of the spy genre, it also subverts expectations for Melissa McCarthy and the character she plays. Unlike the self-assured and super confident Officer Mullins and Megan Price, in the early goings of Spy, McCarthy's Susan Cooper is much more in step with her beloved character Sookie St. James from Gilmore Girls. I think Melissa McCarthy is one of the finest comedic actresses today and here Feig finally does exactly what I've been hoping someone would do with her. Finally, we get to see her start off as a humble and relatable figure who then progressively embraces her inner confidence and ability - becoming the super spy, international woman of mystery that she was always meant to be.
Essentially, Susan Cooper is a meek, servile CIA analyst working in "the basement" as the voice in Bradley Fine's (Jude Law as Americanized James Bond) earpiece. When Fine is killed by crime lord Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne) whose father died at Fine's hand while trying to protect a stolen nuke, Boyanov informs the CIA that she knows the identities of all their top agents - including a bumbling Jason Statham who speaks only in hyperbole and a sleek and gorgeous Morena Baccarin - and intends to kill any of them who try to stop her from selling the nuke to the highest bigger. Racked with guilt about Fine's death, Susan volunteers to observe and report on Rayna in the field with the assistance of her fellow basement-dweller Nancy (the brilliant, scene-stealing Miranda Hart) which her boss (Allison Janney) reluctantly accepts. While initially filled with nervous excitement at the opportunity, Susan quickly discovers that her superiors do not see her as the skilled undercover agent she sees herself as, but as frumpy and incompetent, someone to be demeaned into obscurity and invisibility by humiliating wigs and spy gadgets disguised as fungal spray and medicated hemorrhoid wipes.
Likewise, Spy's promotional campaign would have you believe that McCarthy spends the movies runtime playing into this image of a foolish, inept clown in over her head - it had me convinced. But, impressively, Feig's script shrewdly reveals Susan Cooper as an incredibly intelligent and capable spy who's clever, quick on her feet and physically artful in a way that lets McCarthy show off her unmatched physical comedy in a way that doesn't feel exploitative of her size a la something like Paul Blart: Mall Cop. She isn't polished or aloof in any stretch of the imagination, but her sheer aptitude and fervor make her one of the most charming and irresistible spies in quite some time - especially in comparison to Staham's hilariously ineffectual Rick Ford and Peter Serafinowicz's absurd and lecherous Italian agent. Susan isn't immune to criticism and jokes, but the indignities she suffers are parceled out smartly and are matched by jabs thrown out at the rest of the cast who are all completely game and strive to match the comedic prowess and willingness to look ludicrous of their co-star.
Spy has ideas that suggest at a larger satirization of the genre and, more importantly, the stereotypes inherent in it - especially when it comes to gender and appearance - but really, this is a movie about having fun. One of the things I like best about Paul Feig as a director is that once he gets all of these talented people together, he kind of just steps back and lets them go. As such, Spy never lets its satirization get in the way of what it really wants to do. There's one terrific, intimate fight scene in a kitchen, but apart from that the action is pretty pat. This is a film that's all about the comedy. And, as a result, it's probably the funniest mainstream film so far this year. It's not easy for a film like this to be hilarious on such a large scale while also being admirably progressive. But Spy manages to pull it off.
Don't be fooled by that gigantic standee you see while you're waiting outside of the bathrooms at your local Cinemark. It's only a disguise. And like Susan Cooper, what's underneath that disguise is hilarious, beautiful and endearing.
8 out of 10
