Spy is a movie that should be celebrated more but sadly will have a brief moment to shine before being bowled over by bigger Summer blockbusters.  The spy genre has been an easy target lately with several spoofs and send up films but few have had the great mix of parody and reverence as well as Melissa McCarthy’s best performance to date and a career defining comedic turn by Jason Statham.

The biggest problem with Spy can be seen almost from the outset with a problem with tone.  The movie can’t really decide whether it wants to be a laugh out loud, rolling comedy (which it is) or an action film with strong set pieces and pretty impressive hand to hand fights (which it also is).  The fact that it can’t blend these two genres effectively however has no bearing on the enjoyment of the film or how strongly the movie pulls both off.  Spy uses expert casting and strong writing to tell the story of a lonely and disillusioned spy assistant played by Melissa McCarthy as she is thrust into action and a world that we soon find out she may be more suited for.  Paul Feig uses McCarthy not as the bull in a China shop, outrageous comedienne he has before but plays her character almost as the straight man as all around her we find that none of these characters are what they seem.  The film plays with stereotypes and traditional gender roles like this throughout the film which brings us to the brilliant performance turned in by Jason Statham.  I don’t know if the role was written for him but there really is no one else who could’ve played this character with such perfection (save maybe The Rock who can do damn near anything).  Statham steals the film by both being the man we know he is and yet giving possibly the best comedic performance I’ve seen all year.  Add to all of that a solid Jude Law and a continually funny Rose Byrne and the film just is a performance showcase.  Two roles fell flat for me though with Bobby Cannavale basically being wasted and with nothing to do, though you kind of feel with a director’s cut and additional scenes he may have been downsized due to time, and Miranda Hart’s sidekick character being needlessly wedged into scenes.

By the time the third act starts to play out and plot twists start to get to the almost ridiculous point (I’m sure done intentionally) you’re almost happy for the action scenes because I was laughing so hard.  One standout is a brilliantly filmed and choreographed kitchen fight scene with McCarthy and don’t leave until the credit stinger, but when leaving the theater everyone had a smile on their face and were repeating lines and going over their favorite scenes, mine involved Jason Statham and a Face/Off machine and I can’t wait to talk about it when you’ve seen the movie.

Recommend? Duh, loved every second of it and I’m leading the charge for Jason Statham for Best Supporting Actor.