Saw a preview of this on Tuesday, totally packed screening, the whole audience laughed riotously from start to finish and at the right times (not that "I'm not sure if that was a joke, i'll laugh anyway" behaviour). I THOUGHT i would dislike it because i'm not a big fan of McCarthy or Feig, but it was immensely enjoyable. Largely because of Statham (insanely hilarious, a comedic career should be his new mission in life) and Byrne, but McCarthy was surprisingly good too. The first half of the movie, she's firmly in "Molly" territory and in the second half, she's somewhat forced to become that angry foul-mouthed woman from "The Heat" & "Bridesmaids" again, but it's nowhere near as draining & pointless as those random bouts of improvised swearing usually are in modern comedy. All in all, very good. Walked in with a very low expectation, came out extremely pleased.
Watched this film as a big fan of the Stath. it was much better than i thought it would be. very funny, melissa McCarthy was good and Jason Statham did what was basically a send up of the macho secret agent.
I trust Mark Kermode's reviews more than any other critic, past or present. He's also a wonderful teacher. Listening to his comments about performances, cinematography and writing has given me a more discerning eye that has greatly increased my appreciation of films in general. I especially like his willingness to "let his hair down" when he's presented with a romp that's not going to win awards but is just an enjoyable two hours of fun. With that said... I saw this movie based on this review. I don't find MM especially funny, and even the much lauded Bridesmaids fell flat with me. So I'll start by admitting that I'm immune to the charms of this director and actress so I shouldn't have been surprised that, despite a few laughs, I found nothing about this film to recommend it. It wasn't witty or clever, and it certainly wasn't original. There are comedies that I don't absolutely love, but I'll still watch them if they happen to be on TV or if nothing else on Netflix catches my eye. This won't be one of them.
Director Paul Feig delivers A well acted, hilarious, well written, well directed & A well focused action comedy film that’s comparable to the Austin Powers films (1997, 1999 & 2002). (93%) (4.5/5 stars) (positive)
My fella bought spy today directed by the same person who also directed bridesmaids ,this stars Jason statham and Melissa mcarthy and Jude law really funny a bit like a slap stick humorous comedy version of bond ...I have to say the movie was great ,but mark kermodes impression of Jason statham is very good I like it .
I think you're just rooting for statham. Also (the pepe le pew in the movie) is the only real funny thing in it. The movie would have been an actual comedy if they would have been teamed up from beginning to end. The chemistry on screen of those two was great, albeit the dungeon scene was a bit much, but him grabbing her boob and butt, was hilarious because no one sees her, the least bit sexy, and him constantly complimenting her, while keeping a totally straight face, was to die for. Statham didn't pull off his part at all. And the fat lady cursing and such was not believable. It was like she was reading the dictionary.
Luvie1980 I think she was funnier in this one because she's more of a real person and not just a caricature. I first saw her in Gilmore Girls, so I've missed that range from her in films.
My friend kindly invited me to the premier of this. He said afterwards, "I'm really sorry I made you sit through that, mate". All the way through watching it I was thinking about how Mark Kermode reviews comedies. He normally counts how many times he laughs. For me, that number was 0.3. Each 0.1 of a laugh was at Statham to be fair but that's the only thing Mark and I agree on here (not that he'll care!). I was really hoping he'd berate this film to within an inch of its life. Never mind.
ohthepeppers I don't understand how critics are loving this up, it looks no better than any other R-rated comedy that critics pretty much hated, i.e. The Hangover films apart from Feig's feminist agenda, oh wait that's it.
