MY SPY (2020)

MY SPY (2020)

Tagline: He Works Alone...She Doesn't Care

(Action, Comedy) [PG-13]

When I said I took out garbage... I meant human garbage

I remember seeing the previews for this thing in the theaters back in 2019. In fact, it was supposed to come out on August 23, 2019, but got pushed back. That ended up running into the Covid 19 pandemic eventually, and the movie got basically “re-packaged” as an Amazon Original. It came out in June of last year, but it just hit my docket this week. Directed by Peter Segal who is known for 50 FIRST DATES and TOMMY BOY among other hits I thought this thing had a chance to be really good. 

In this one a CIA operative has just blown an assignment and isn’t known for playing well with others, so he is given a low-end assignment that puts him undercover to surveil a mom and a daughter who may have a killer after them. The 9-year-old daughter, Sophie (played by Chloe Coleman who was 12 when this was made and already has 24 acting credits to her name) is extremely inquisitive and quickly discovers that she and her mom are under surveillance and decides to manipulate the situation in the best way possible. 

First off, I have to say this damn thing is a LOT funnier than I expected it to be. From the previews, I could tell we might be in for a treat, but this movie is really hilarious and does a huge service to Dave Bautista’s (who plays JJ the main CIA agent) recently diversified movie career. He is best known as Drax from the MARVEL Cinematic Universe. Bautista’s mannerisms in this movie actually remind me more of Drax than any other role he’s done, hard, but not heartless. His on-screen chemistry with Parisa Fitz-Henley who plays the mom (Kate) in this is really solid. While the film isn’t really a romance film, the hints and exploration of them getting to know each other is pretty fun and endearing. Parisa has a pretty solid career herself. She was Reva Conners in both Luke Cage and Jessica Jones shows. She was also Fiji Cavanaugh in the Midnight Texas TV series. The movie also features a frustrated Kristen Schaal who plays the tech named Bobbi who is assigned to help JJ. Kristen has been in a lot of things, but she is probably most famous for being the voice of Louise Belcher on BOB’S BURGERS. We do get a Ken Jeong sighting, but he is way under-utilized in this one. That choice was a swing and a miss for this movie, but honestly, it didn’t hurt the final product. 

Looking at this thing pacing wise, everything fits well. The reactions to certain events seem pretty realistic and the script stays pretty grounded. The biggest plus for me in this film was that it never drags and the quality of the film doesn’t have any huge dips or scenes where you just wish that wasn’t there. There is one scene where Bobbi drops a machine gun down the stairs with the expected results. I feel like that’s a cliché’ but it didn’t drive me out of my mind or anything. 

If you can’t tell, I really like this movie. I don’t know that it’s a family film per se, but it’s a lot of fun for a flick that I might have skipped if it wasn’t on a streaming service. This one gets a solid 6 out of 7. It’s not completely perfect, but it’s pretty freakin close.

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