Audrey and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.
The Spy Who Dumped Me broke up over an uninspired text instead of a hilarious conversation. Already, even before placing the glistening blu-ray disc into the tray, this action comedy had an immediate obstacle to overcome. Feig’s simplistically named comedy ‘Spy’. In theory, minus the reasoning for the women brashly venturing out into the field, the two film’s most likely follow their plots identically. Unfortunately, that is the case. However, whilst Feig’s feature remains superior, there are some aspects to this comedy caper that transforms a blatant copy into a watchable, if forgettable, globetrotting mission. After being dumped by her boyfriend, a woman and her best friend find themselves endangered when they discover he’s actually a spy. They must adhere to his last words and attempt to save the world before terrorists obtain what they desire most.
A trophy. What does this golden statuette contain? Well, you don’t need too much imagination to seek the correct answer. In fact, you don’t need to use much initiative to copy down Fogel’s script word for word. The plot in itself hits every familiar beat in the spy encyclopaedia. Flee the country, visit as many European nations as possible in the two hour runtime (impressively, they did seven!) and of course “don’t trust anyone”. The latter sentiment ironically revealing certain plot twists before being executed, not being assisted by ‘Spy’ which performed the same trickery but with more finesse. It may seem unfair to constantly keep comparing the two, however when this iteration is a clear derivation of the aforementioned comedy, it’s a fair critique to utilise.
The chemistry between Kunis and McKinnon was infectious. When they contagiously laugh, you chuckle with them. When they’re discussing personal issues, you feel both informed and vital to the conversation. A comedy like this wouldn’t work without its lead stars, and they fortunately provided functioning chemistry. Whilst on the subject of comedy, this flick unfortunately is rarely funny. The only laughs are exerted due to McKinnon’s comedic ingenuity. Yet she’s too constrained by the script to actually unleash her full hilarity, seemingly a waste of her brilliant talent. Kunis was Kunis. Nothing more to say on that. And Theroux was charming if somewhat underused.
Where the comedy falters however, the impeccably captured action prevails and astonished me with its precise editing. The introductory Lithuania escape had a plethora of fist fights, stunt work and realistic explosions to really set the tone for its action. The proceeding cafe brawl, urban car chase and circus act only cemented the talented choreography. Cheap visual effects were kept to a minimum and almost replicated the extravagance of a ‘John Wick’ picture. Never thought I’d say that, but there we are.
The conclusion was underwhelming to say the least but, as I said before, it’s a watchable yet forgettable spy comedy. There are countless other films that vastly succeed in balancing the comedy with the story and action, Fogel’s feature just isn’t quite up there. A lazy imitation of ‘Spy’ that is unable to be anything but a meaningless comparison. At least it provided me with a checklist of European cities I need to visit...
