A taxi tears down the streets of a European city. The occupants are being chased by gun wielding men on motorcycles. Death is imminent but the Uber driver still finds time to boast about being a DJ and even does a front seat bop while the blonde American woman in the backseat claims to be an Austrian man named Mr Yang. Seconds the driver gets shot in the head. If this appeals to you then I think you'll find plenty to enjoy about The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Audrey is a woman scorned. She thinks her boyfriend Drew has given her the flick and she's not one bit happy about it so turns to her best friend Morgan for solace and comfort. Little does she realise Drew is a CIA operative on a mission in Europe and when his world collides with hers chaos ensues and a pan European adventure lies ahead.
It's far from perfect but I thoroughly enjoyed this. The title is a riff on Bond movies but happily this is way more enjoyable than the last outing in that franchise. Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon as Audrey and Morgan make an excellent double act and play off each other perfectly. It's genuinely laugh out loud funny in places and is dotted with bruising and surprisingly violent action setpieces throughout. If you liked the 2015 Melissa McCarthy film Spy then this will be right up your street with it's similar blend of profane laughs, bloody action and close ups of male genitalia. There's an awful lot of knobs in films lately have ye noticed? Nudity should be equal opportunity of course but it's always a startling thing to see on a 30ft high cinema screen.
Comedy cocks aside this ticks all the boxes you'd expect to see in a spy film. Characters flitting from city to city, clandestine meetings, double talk, triple crosses, people claiming to be who they are not, interrogations, inter agency strife, ultra important usb sticks full of data. All the old tropes and cliches are rolled out. The Bourne/Bond similarities stretch to the more action packed scenes too. Vicious hand to hand scraps, murderous shootouts with civilians becoming collateral damage and of course the aforementioned car chases. You'd think this stuff would clash with the comedy but it all works quite well with the more absurd bits complimenting the laughs. And yes, there are some super laughs here. The world slowest car crash is a particular delight as is a meal with the most pretentious mansplainer in Europe and also a quick lesson on the art of proper lying that pays off throughout the film. Hint - always be abrupt.
Kunis and McKinnon make for a brilliant pair of leads. Kunis may be the bigger star but they get more or less equal screentime with plenty of moments for both to shine. McKinnon's Morgan (wait til you hear her full name) starts off a nuisance but by the end you'll be cheering for her and Kunis's 20 years in comedy stand to her here big time with her Audrey being very likable, relatable and funny. BTW, does she age at all? The chemistry between them really works too. It's always good when a screen friendship feels real and here it gives us a great impetus to care for the characters onscreen. Justin Theroux makes the most of a small role as Drew and his scrappy scenes will leave you wondering why he isn't a bigger name. Outlander star Sam Heughan looks the part as a smooth M16 agent but sadly Gillian Anderson is absolutely wasted as his boss. Her first appearance and Morgan's reaction to her is a hoot though.
It's not all successful of course. A lot of the quieter parts reek of that improv thing that American films love. It rarely works, always feels strained and tends to go on for far longer than it should. An appearance from someone involved in real life espionage feels embarrassingly crowbarred in and one big plot hole is totally overlooked in the rush to fit one last twist into proceedings. But tbh you'll probably be giggling too much and enjoying the interactions between the leads to care.
It's a messy film but it works. You'll laugh and you'll want the main characters to succeed and any film that can make you do that is doing something right. I hope it gets a sequel. It deserves one. I'd happily watch Audrey and Morgan in their very own franchise. The day of the solo male spy is done. It's time for something new.
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