Spy (DVD REVIEW)
Spy
DVD
Review
by Kam Williams
Melissa McCarthy Fish-Out-of-Water Comedy Comes to DVD
For
the past three years, Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) has been stuck
sitting behind a desk as an analyst at CIA Headquarters in Langley,
Virginia. In that capacity, she's been providing technical support
from afar to Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a veteran spy who has
successfully handled a series of dangerous missions over the course
of a decorated career. Serving as his eyes and ears via hidden
cameras and listening devices, the 40 year-old spinster's been quite
content to live vicariously through her dashing colleague, especially
given the big crush she has on him.
Everything
changes the day he's murdered while attempting to secure a suitcase
bomb about to fall into the wrong hands. Susan subsequently pressures
her reluctant boss (Allison Janney) to be allowed to replace her late
partner in the search for the the assassin as well as the rogue
nuclear device.
Elaine
is understandably reluctant, since this would be the plump pencil
pusher's very first field assignment. Nonetheless, she grudgingly
gives Susan a new identity (“Carol Jenkins”), before issuing
strict orders about keeping a low profile and about observing but
never confronting any of the bad guys she encounters overseas.
Needless
to say, the rules of engagement are out the window just as soon as
Susan's plane lands in Paris. She blows her matronly tourist cover by
coming to the assistance of a fellow agent (Jason Statham) unaware
that he's in imminent peril. Between the loose-lipped loudmouth's
need for attention and her appetite whetted for more action, there's
little hope of getting the subtle surveillance genie back in the
bottle.
Thus
unfolds Spy, the latest collaboration between Melissa McCarthy and
writer/director Paul Feig. This film pales in comparison to either
Bridesmaids (2011) or The Heat (2013), perhaps because, here, Melissa
has been asked to carry the comedy load alone. In Bridesmaids, she
shared those duties with a talented ensemble; and in The Heat, her
pairing with Sandra Bullock worked to perfection.
By
contrast, this picture definitely has its moments, yet one tires of
the tendency to rely on Melissa to generate laughs by way of her
trademark trash-talk. Those vulgar comments were funny when delivered
as unexpected asides in Bridesmaids. Now, they sort of fall flat when
exposed as the only material a one-trick pony might have to offer.
A
Melissa McCarthy vehicle recommended for fans with a big appetite for
her crude, expletive-laced brand of humor.
Good
(2 stars)
Rated R for sexuality, brief nudity, violence and pervasive
profanity
In English, French,
Italian and German with subtitles
Running time: 120 minutes
Distributor: Fox Home Entertainment
DVD
Extras: Top Secret Gag Reel; Extra Top Secret Behind-the-Scenes Gag
Reel; Susan and Her Men; The Great Rick Ford, Gallery; and the
Director's Commentary Track.
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