The Spy Who Dumped Me
by Susanna Fogel and David Iserson
Imagine Entertainment
If you are lucky in life, you will have a friend or two that you will ride or die for, and will ride or die for you. I highly recommend it. If you are unlucky, you may end up in a situation where you need to get a MacGuffin to Vienna after your roommate’s one night stand murdered your (Ex?) boyfriend who is also a spy. But, if you do end up in that place, then HOPEFULLY you’ll have a friend like Kate McKinnon to help you out.
The Spy Who Dumped Me is an ode to that ride or die friendship, and that’s where it works the best. It does not work as well as it wanted to on the level of balancing out a spy thriller with a globe trotting comedy. It wanted to recreate the magic of Spy, but with more women, and instead we got…kind of muddled thing.
Audrey (Mila Kunis) got dumped by her boyfriend Drew (Justin Theroux) via text. The twist (it’s in the title) is that he’s a spy, and he was on a job and broke up with her to protect her, and when he comes back to apologize and collect something he left in Audrey’s apartment, he gets ambushed, and tells her to take the thing he left to Vienna, where it will be collected by a contact. She and her best friend Morgan (Kate McKinnon) go, because you can either die having never been to Europe, or go to Europe and die…having… been… to Europe.
There’s a pretty traditional spy plot that involves going to places like Prague and Amsterdam, and there’s running and jumping on trains. There’s a super Russian spy who was a former gymnast turned super model (Ivanna Sakhno), and also Outlander’s own Sam Hueghan as a British spy who may or may not be on the side of our heroines. (I mean, he’s got super high cheek bones, it could go either way.) Also included is Gillian Anderson as the head of MI6 and, as Morgan says, “The Beyonce of the Government,” plus Paul Reiser and Jane Curtin, and Hasan Minaj as a CIA dude.
Things that worked: Kate McKinnon, as always. Mila Kunis as Kate’s straight woman (Mila is very good at comedy.) Mila and Kate’s chemistry. Sam is very handsome and I buy him as a dapper British spy. Locations were great with a caveat (I did spend a bunch of time going, “Hey, I saw that place on The Amazing Race!”).
Things that did not work: there was not much effort to make the plot functional. This movie didn’t have the budget to do the Mission Impossible thing and have huge set pieces to distract from the lack of plot.
Also not working: jokes that weren’t as funny as they were supposed to be. A lot of the best ones were already in the trailer, so… I saw them already. And there’s an attempt at raunchy humor like in Bridesmaids that just falls flat. If you’re gonna go for raunchy humor, commit. Nothing is more dull than raunchiness that’s only about a third-hearted.
Justin Theroux is the third most forgettable white dude in movies (the second most forgettable one is that dude in Avatar).
Location caveat: Very Eurocentric. Even James Bond goes to Africa and Asia sometimes.
However, I still loved watching Audrey and Morgan FRIENDSHIP their way through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered. There’s a moment when Morgan (who is, admittedly, a lot) admits that the only people who let her be herself are her parents and Audrey, and Audrey is like, of course I love you as you are. They both spend the movie building each other up and having each other’s back and it’s the best.
Things I suggest: Watch this with a group of your friends, and maybe pre-game a little if that’s your thing. Do NOT see this sitting between two dudes who don’t know how to laugh. (Not my choice!) The women sitting behind me were having a GREAT time. The dudes to either side? Couldn’t tell. Probably not. I don’t know why they were there.
I’m giving this a C+, but if I were grading on the, “It’s 90 degrees out and the humidity is a million percent and I don’t have central air” curve, it’s a B, B+.
I adore Kate Mckinnon & I will definitely see this movie, if even it ‘s not great. Although
probablynot until it hits Netflix, because I would rather spend my theatre money on the Fred Rogers doc, which rates an A.Agh, I hate your tags. And no edit button. The only strikeout should be through ‘probably’, because otherwise it says the opposite of what I mean. Could you fix it please?
I saw this with my parents and thus appreciated the toned down raunchy humor, lol. My dad said it was the most entertaining movie he’d seen in a long time! I really enjoyed t although the more I think about he actual plot th lesss sense it makes.
Not sure why the location being Eurocentric is a caveat. I mean, if the issues of the film plot are in Europe, why would they go to Africa or Asia? It also sounds like they’re in several countries throughout the film, whereas most Hollywood films are set in the USA alone which gets tiresome for an international audience.
I’ll definitely see this even thought it’s only a C grade, because lighthearted movies with female leads AND genuine female friendship being portrayed are few and far between, so I’ll take what I can get in this clusterf**k of a world.
@hng23: All fixed, and I’m sorry for the trouble!
The first most forgettable white dude in movies?! I GOTTA KNOW!
@JoS: I forgot.
I was not prepared for Kate in that suit.
@JoS: The first most forgettable is… *consults Google because no matter how many hundreds of times this comes up, the dude ghosts from the collective conscious two seconds after the discussion ends*… Karl Urban.
@Redheadedgirl Should have seen that coming.
@Ren Benton: Nooo! I love Karl Urban. He’s my movie star crush. His ‘tude in Dredd *swoon*
Sam Worthington was in Avatar. I rather liked him.
If I see this it’s only for Sam as spy.
What confuses me about this review is that the events being Eurocentric are bad and should have included Africa and Asia? (Plenty of James Bond movies take place only in Europe, especially Moonraker.) But no criticism about how there seems only one person of color of note (Hasan Minhaj) and the rest of the cast is white? By the way I didn’t know this, but Hasan Minhaj spells his name like this and not how you spelled it.
I went with a group of women, and we had the BEST time. We could not stop cracking up. I appreciated the toned-down raunch and just embraced the whole thing as a send-up of ridiculous Europe-set spy thrillers and buddy comedies starring dudes. I particularly appreciated Hasan Minhaj as part of the cast! Fun fact: His character’s name, “Duffer,” is British/Indian slang for “worthless/loser.” So I laughed every time it was mentioned.
I’m not really a fan of the Apatow oeuvre. I DNF’d Bridesmaids. So this film was much, much, more my speed.
@JoS, I’m with you. I actually sit through reruns of The Chronicles of Riddick/i> just to ogle Karl Urban and that haircut. Although my fav is his beleaguered CIA agent in Red/i>. Soooo disappointed he wasn’t in the sequel.
My Outlander peeps were lined up on opening night, because Sam, and all gave it a thumbs up. I’ll probably go to beat the heat this weekend and because Kate McKinnon is the funniest woman ever.
I really like the director’s first movie, Life Partners, about two best friends whose friendship changes when one enters into a serious relationship. There’s one scene I wish I could force all my married friends to see. So I’ve been looking forward to this one and I’ll still watch it just with lower expectations with often helps.
I saw this with my BFF last week and I loved it. I thought it had just enough raunchiness/over the top action without lingering needlessly on the gross and disturbing. I loved the feminist approach to a spy/action movie and Would love to see more like it.
@JoS and DonnaMarie-I up you on the Karl Urban love with his performances as Cupid on Hercules, and Xena Warrior Princess. He also played Julius Caesar-they had a fun way of recycling actors they liked 🙂 Also loved him in the Lord of the Rings. I think he is very underrated as an actor-I will watch him in anything!
I’m really excited to see this movie-it looks like a lot of fun. Kate McKinnon is an absolute favorite of mine.
There’s a considerable “Kate McKinnon in that suit” and “Gillian Anderson!!!1!” and “Sam Heughan and his cheekbones in a tux” curve as well, it would seem. Thanks for the helpful review complete with visual evidence. (Sorry to hear about the plot. I do love a good spy movie.)
Re “the guy from Avatar ” – that is, Sam Worthington.
Wow. I dearly wish I could forget Somersault and Love My Way season 1.
(Particularly since if I could forget, then I could forgive Abbie Cornish for Somersault and seek out Bright Star , which sounds much more my speed.)
On the other hand, it did ping my ‘cultural cringe fuel’ radar that Sam Worthington’s early work was not even worth mentioning (or possibly even googling). This was AFI award-winning stuff. (Not that that makes it great. Australian cultural bodies reward ‘moody’ drama i.e. movies and TV shows that reproduce all the worst tropes from literary fiction.) The Love My Way team’s shows were nearly always popular and/or prestigious.
I don’t think you can drop cultural heavyweights like that with a handwave. They had and have an impact in Australia, and the ricochets may not stay down under as intended, like they’re supposed to in Vegas.
Specifically, it is far from a safe assumption that Americans will not look up these shows because “Sam Worthington can’t have done anything good ever.” Ben Mendelsohn starred in some of these shows, too, and that logic can’t apply with him. Y’all keep him employed over there.
Plus people overseas liked what the Love My Way writers cooked up earlier: The Secret Life of Us . Deservedly, from what I hear. Including a degree of diversity representation.
Down the track…sigh. They had a majority of blue-eyed actors in the main cast, and they used the kids as plot devices.
(Then for an encore, they ruined Play School ’s latest hits album by casting the sunny sing-songster presenter as the not-quite eye of the storm at the centre of ALL the hot messes.)
I think I would have liked this movie if there were- maybe 10 extra minutes at the beginning to setup the characters and their relationships and why the Mcguffin was so important it was the Mcguffin-iest of all the Mcguffins. I had a hard time buying into any of the relationships that were supposed to drive the movie. But Kate McKinnon is a national treasure and at this point I’d follow her anywhere. Also- Outlander (which is now his name).
I think this will be first time I’m seeing Kate McKinnon, but just on the basis of that suit gif I’d be looking forward to it. Going with my gal pal tomorrow, we will pre-game (the bar downstairs from the theater has Casamigos Reposado) and my easily-amused husband will join us. I have no doubt that fun will be had.
Hmmm maybe I will even dress up a little. No-one expects that anymore. [cackle]
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