My dad has played a huge role in my love of comedy and my desire to build a career in it. He is responsible for exposing me to some of the classics early on and showing me how much better it is for one’s outlook to see the humor in things.
He is also one of the best people to bring to a comedy movie. His laughter isn’t booming, per se — but boy does it carry. During the funniest parts of a movie, I can turn, gasping, and see my dad mirroring me, looking back at me with eyes squinted and welling up with the tears of hilarity.
Seeing Paul Fieg’s “Spy” brought me another one of these father-son moments.
When I first saw the trailer and its release date, I told my dad we should see it as my birthday treat to him. We had seen Fieg’s “The Heat” two years ago and loved it. The trailer made me a little worried it would be a “goodie but a dummy,” something my dad would still enjoy but wouldn’t hold my attention or tickle me as much. We cannot forget Melissa McCarthy was in comedy disappointments “Identity Thief” and “Tammy,” after all.
Friends, it is a pure goodie.
Like “The Heat,” Fieg has been playing with some genre bending, which the James Bond-style title sequence made very clear. He went all out to make this about the unlikely agent, Susan Cooper (McCarthy), going into the field for her first time and making it work in her own unusual way. The British agent character trope was satirized by Jason Statham in the form of an over-confident and aggressive bumbling agent-gone-rogue.
The ensemble in general was impressive. While I haven’t a doubt McCarthy can hold her own unsupported, along with Stratham, she had familiar Rose Byrne and the versatile Jude Law to synthesize with impressively. The fact Byrne can play the bratty villain and McCarthy and her can still share a dazzling and comic screen dynamic says a lot about the chemistry of the performers and Fieg’s writing.
Then there’s Susan Cooper’s CIA coworker, best friend and goofy sidekick Nancy played by Miranda Hart. This Brit is a refreshing new comedian who made a great first impression in this U.S. summer blockbuster comedy.
We even get a moment with Steve, the male flight attendant of “Bridesmaids” fame.
This movie is simple but effective. The genre twisting, writing and outstanding cast made this one of my favorite new comedies of the year, featuring one particularly sudden and visceral moment that I will not spoil which left both my father and I literally wailing in the theater.
Seeing my dad nearly incapacitated by a comedy makes me realize how much I want to do that for people every day until my final moments on this rock. Movies like “Spy” will prove to be great examples to look to for future comedies.
Griffin Leeds
