Spy

Spy is the latest film from director Paul Fieg, who brought us Bridesmaids. Although having a female protagonist in a comedy/action film is refreshing, some of the humour in Spy is well-trodden territory. The moment Melissa McCarthy finally flies off the handle and starts verbally abusing everyone in sight is when this film starts to get going. McCarthy plays agent Susan Cooper from the CIA, right-hand woman to the effortlessly good-looking, conniving and soulless spy, Bradley Fine (Jude Law).

Australian Rose Byrne plays the beautiful, explosive, self-centred Raina Boyanov, who plans to sell a bomb to terrorists. The double-crossing, the plot twists and expensive BMW car crashes are what you’d expect from a 20th Century Fox film.

The degrading of good-looking people, ugly people, fat people and stupid people is, also, predictably funny. The comedic flair of McCarthy is what sets the film apart; her script reads like a well-crafted stand-up show. Jason Statham (In Bruges) brings in some humorous interludes as a rogue spy with a reputation so good he can’t stop talking about it.

There’s also a cameo by 50 Cent in a Budapest nightclub scene, and a dig at Kanye West, both kind of strange. The witty repartee between McCarthy and British comedian/actress Miranda Hart (Miranda, Call The Midwives) is at the heart of this film’s appeal.