Twentieth Century FoxMelissa McCarthy plays an unlikely agent in Spy, but the movie is likely to be a hit.
The action comedy, which re-teams the actress with Bridesmaids and The Heat director Paul Feig, stars McCarthy as an unassuming CIA analyst named Susan Cooper. She volunteers for duty after a field agent (Jude Law) goes missing and another agent's (Jason Statham) identity is compromised. The 20th Century Fox flick, out Friday, also stars Morena Baccarin, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Miranda Hart and Allison Janney. 50 Cent makes a cameo.
McCarthy is a box office star, but Spy faces some serious competition this weekend, as Warner Bros. Entourage and Focus Features' Insidious: Chapter 3 are debuting.
Here's what critics are saying about Spy:
• "It's taken Hollywood a while to figure out what to do with Melissa McCarthy. Maybe that's because of sexism or maybe it's just old-fashioned cluelessness, which, come to think of it, may amount to the same thing. Either way, the answer's been obvious all along: Put the woman in any damn thing she pleases. She's that good," Entertainment Weekly's Chris Nashawaty writes. There are some problems with the film, he notes, like 50 Cent's recurring cameo and the uneven pacing. Still, McCarthy shines onscreen. "Honestly, though, she can do whatever she wants at this point," he writes. "Just as long as she works as much as possible. After all, who else is going to show the boys how it's done?"
• The New York Times' A.O. Scott writes that "the busy, silly script allows Ms. McCarthy to be her own best sidekick, in effect an entire sketch-comedy troupe unto herself." He adds that the movie "is fancier than The Heat or Bridesmaids—flush with high-end visual effects purchased on the strength of their success...Even better is the blithe feminism that makes Spy feel at once revolutionary and like no big deal. It's not just that the movie aces the Bechdel test. It didn't even need to study. The movie isn't uplifting; it's buoyant. While Susan at first clearly has a lot to prove—that she's a skilled professional and a ruthless adversary, everyone else's doubts to the contrary—Mr. Feig doesn't make her proving it the central arc of the narrative. Instead, he highlights Ms. McCarthy's quickness and unpredictability, her genius for defying logic and decorum. She can be ridiculous and heroic, needy and scary, clueless and clever—in quick succession and sometimes all at once."
• "If recent misfires like Tammy and Identity Thief have proved anything, it's that Melissa McCarthy is virtually indestructible, retaining her comic buoyancy, her tremendous likability and much of her fan base even when stuck with bargain-basement material. All of which makes it even more gratifying to see what she can do with a vehicle that's firing on all cylinders for a change," Variety's Justin Chang writes. "In Spy, an uproarious blast of globe-trotting action-comedy delirium that doesn't spoof the espionage-thriller genre so much as drop a series of banana peels in its path, McCarthy plays an eager-to-please desk jockey turned full-blown CIA operative who learns to wield a gun as skillfully as she does a one-liner—a dazzling transformation that represents the actress' smartest, funniest, most versatile and fully sustained big screen showcase to date."
• The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore writes that Susan "is a much milder character than McCarthy's previous film roles, a woman who cares what other people think of her and yearns to please. But as she's quietly saving the day for the dozenth time, circumstances force her to invent a new cover for herself—lucky for us, one that allows her to unleash the foul-mouthed, hilarious assertiveness we expect. She stays in character, though, delivering a coherent performance in a spoof that follows suit, spinning a more sensible plot than most 'serious' spy films." He also praises Feig, explaining that the writer-director "puts himself in the service of female characters who share more with the women in the audience than with stock Hollywood stereotypes."
• "Freed from the PG-13 shackles of most straightforward spy movies, Spy actually offers up more blood and vivid violence than the genre it's tweaking, but never enough to get in the way of the comedy. If anything, the occasional mayhem reminds us of the danger Susan's putting herself in while also underscoring how cartoony many contemporary espionage dramas have become," The Wrap's Alonso Duralde writes. "Spy would be a standout if only for its ability to keep me laughing while also keeping me from figuring out who was really double-crossing whom. Add to that this extraordinary ensemble of actors (who knew Jason Statham could be this funny?), and you've got another memorable offering from McCarthy and Feig."
• Rolling Stone's Larry Horricks calls McCarthy "comedy royalty," going so far as to say that Spy is "her best screen funfest to date." He adds that the plot "brims with R-rated action and raunchy one-liners. It's all outrageously entertaining, from Susan's makeovers, frumpy to fab, to the lethal weapons disguised as stool softeners and hemorrhoid patches. All the actors come up aces. And let's bottle the delicious byplay between McCarthy and Byrne, whose comic timing is bitchy perfection. It's a kick to watch as McCarthy comes out blazing while creating a character who cuts right to the heart. McCarthy is totally irresistible. Ditto the movie."
• "Alas, 'sad case' is not how we want to see McCarthy; it's frustrating to see her spend more than half the movie being the pathetic target of jokes rather than the dominating figure she was in Bridesmaids and The Heat, both of which are far funnier than this one," The New York Post's Kyle Smith complains. He adds that "it's a setback for McCarthy's career to have her play Susan Cooper as the sweet, eager-to-please 'lunch lady' (as Statham calls her); it's a little too easy to picture someone who looks like her being ignored by bartenders or given a hideous cupcake necklace on what she thinks is a date." Smith also argues that Feig is "uncertain both with the plot (full of pointless turns) and the jokes (when in doubt, he has someone's face get stuck next to someone's butt). The earlier films (both written by women) each had a much more personal tone; this one is like one of those early-'90s pictures made for high-concept purposes alone."
• "Statham might have the best jokes in the movie, but the competition is fierce. Every role is perfectly constructed, from Peter Serafinowicz's handsy Italian agent to lanky Miranda Hart as Susan's officemate and bumbling best friend," L.A. Weekly's Amy Nicholson writes. She notes that Byrne is "terrifying perfection" as the villain, Rayna, "and you can't wait for Susan to put her in her place—which, to the film's credit, feels like it might be impossible." Her only issue? "Feig loves Susan, and he wants us to love her, too. Yet Spy is too sincere about how the rest of the world treats her—and women like her—to smack on a stupidly happy ending. Susan might save the day, but her battle for respect will never be over."
Spy is in theaters Friday.