The Modern Maxwell Smart
My father would occasionally call out the famed "missed it by that much" line every now and again, and yet I never understood. Get Smart was before my time, but I understood the humor a bit more when the remake was released in my lifetime (a bit disappointing). To date, Spy is the only big box office spy parody that I've seen, and I am grateful that it was delivered to us via Paul Feig, who has quickly made a name for himself with modern comedies (Bridesmaids and The Heat, just to name a few). Spy gives us a perspective seldom seen: the CIA desk worker, reminiscent of James Bond's Miss Moneypenny. Not succumbing to the hot-secretary stereotype, Spy delivers with a full round of laughs, even if the finale is somewhat vanilla.
Blending high-risk situations with a comedy of errors turns out to be a great recipe for this film. There are moments of surprising suspense coupled with laugh breaks that give the film an element of surprise. Melissa McCarthy has by now trademarked her style of comedy and it works very well alongside the likes of Jason Statham. For my money, the funniest scene would have to be the early hotel exchange scene, which I'm hoping was somewhat ad libbed. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, which is the tell-tale sign of a big budget comedy, and the laughs certainly paid off.
Also unlike most spy movies, the ending was quite flat. For all of the action and the build-up, the ending leaves you missing something. I could have walked out at the end of the movie feeling very satisfied with the comedy and the ending, but the impression I was left with was nothing more than a polite shoulder shrug. The film, however, does pave the way for a sequel, which could in turn could lead towards a redemptive attempt.
I was happy to spend money to see the film, though the higher quality of the RPX showing at Edward's did not add anything whatsoever.
Written June 11, 2015
Blending high-risk situations with a comedy of errors turns out to be a great recipe for this film. There are moments of surprising suspense coupled with laugh breaks that give the film an element of surprise. Melissa McCarthy has by now trademarked her style of comedy and it works very well alongside the likes of Jason Statham. For my money, the funniest scene would have to be the early hotel exchange scene, which I'm hoping was somewhat ad libbed. Many of the scenes were filmed on location, which is the tell-tale sign of a big budget comedy, and the laughs certainly paid off.
Also unlike most spy movies, the ending was quite flat. For all of the action and the build-up, the ending leaves you missing something. I could have walked out at the end of the movie feeling very satisfied with the comedy and the ending, but the impression I was left with was nothing more than a polite shoulder shrug. The film, however, does pave the way for a sequel, which could in turn could lead towards a redemptive attempt.
I was happy to spend money to see the film, though the higher quality of the RPX showing at Edward's did not add anything whatsoever.
Written June 11, 2015