Spy

I am not a big fan of comedies and only see a handful of them in the cinema each year.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy laughing but the vast majority of comedies don’t appeal to me.  I like my comedy the way I like my tea – black and British and if those elements are missing then the film generally isn’t my cup…..erm…. of tea.

I had been quite content to carry on living my life ignoring the names Paul Feig and Melissa McCarthy but something strange happened; the trailer for Spy made me giggle on more than one occasion.  This was a sign that I would have no choice but to give in and see my first comedy of the year.

PLOT:   After the CIA learn that terrorists are in the process of selling a nuclear bomb professional desk jockey Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) goes undercover to prevent the sale and save New York the world from disaster.  END PLOT

The plot of Spy follows a strict McGuffin formula and has Susan follow the breadcrumbs until she arrives at the nuclear bomb. The simplistic story doesn’t matter as Spy manages to be hilarious from start to finish.  I am not a fan of bodily function humour but even that worked and I am not ashamed to admit that defiling a corpse with vomit had me in stitches.  It is tempting to throw out the phrase “fish out of water” to describe the general theme of Spy but this isn’t the case as Susan (Melissa McCarthy) is always shown to be a completely capable and competent spy once she gets up from behind her desk.    

My only real experience of Melissa McCarthy is from catching the odd episode of Mike and Molly after the cat has fallen asleep on the remote and changed the channel.  I had no real opinion of McCarthy until today and I have immediately fallen in love with her.  McCarthy is effortlessly funny and commands our full attention every time she is on screen.  I think I may have to give in and watch Bridesmaids.

The supporting cast is made up of some of my favourite actresses including the ever amazing Allison Janney and the surprisingly hilarious Rose Byrne.  The film was so good that it was the first time I actually laughed at Miranda Hart which is probably the biggest compliment I can give to the film.  Jude Law and Peter Serafinowicz pop up as agents both of whom are entertaining in their own way.  It probably comes as no surprise that the best used actor was Jason Statham.  Statham’s over the top agent gave the audience some of the biggest laughs but his screen time was perfectly judged as it always left us wanting more.  Statham and McCarthy had great chemistry and now that the team of spies has been established it bodes well for the sequel.

The humour was strong throughout and although dropping frequent F bombs doesn’t count as clever comedy in my book Spy puts bad fucking language to good use and creates some hilarious moments and one liners that I am still giggling at now. 

McCarthy gave her all with the physical comedy and although the action sequences contained plenty of humour it never felt like parody.  Spy could have turned into an over the top mess but it never strayed too far into the realm of silliness.

My biggest worry with comedies is that the funniest moments are in the trailer but with Spy that proved not to be the case as I was laughing away from start to finish.  I had a great time.  Spy is well worth a look and is likely to make many appearances in movie nights to come.  It gets 8/10.  I think it is perhaps a smidgen too long but other than that I can have no complaints.  Paul Feig’s Ghostbuster’s has finally got my attention. 

*in the interest of full disclosure I owe a big thanks to Maynard for the Black and British line*

The Expendables 2

On paper The Expendables is an ingenious idea and I have to admit that I enjoyed it immensely. The announcement that there would be a sequel was secretly welcomed.

PLOT: After one of their own is killed in the line of duty The Expendables set off to stop the villainous villain Villain (Jean-Claude van Damme) from stealing tonnes of plutonium which has been stored in an underground bunker since the end of the Cold War. The Expendables explode their way through an Eastern European country in the name of entertainment. END PLOT

The plot takes pride on being completely unoriginal and it follows the beats of the action genre as though its life were dependant on it. I can’t complain too much about the script, if at all, because intricate plotting is not why I went to see The Expendables 2.

The Expendables 2 is all about the action and it did not disappoint. The first twenty minutes contained so much testosterone I almost grew a penis but thankfully the film calmed down to allow for some clunky exposition before the action kicked in again.

The action was consistently over the top but there were times when it became so frantic it became a blurry mess. The one-on-one set piece with Jet Li (criminally underused) and any scene involving Jason Statham showed that when the action calmed down it could be very good.

It was never going to be an acting master class but the actors, for the most part, did the best as they could. Liam Hemsworth is slowly making a name for himself and Statham phoned in his usual shtick quite well although he was noticeably absent for large chunks of the film.

The problem with The Expendables 2 is the tone as it is trying to parody the cheesy action films of old yet it takes itself far too seriously to pull it off. The in your face humour and one liners miss the mark by a long shot – having Chuck Norris throw down a Chuck Norris gag was never going to work.

The Expendables 2 is a complete mess and is essentially the first film with the volume up twice as loud but is just as watchable. It gets a decent 6.5/10.

Looking forward to the female version which will obviously be a much classier affair!

Cellular

Those who have the misfortune of knowing me know that I go through actor phases.  I had a Reedus Season because of The Walking Dead and Fassbender Season is likely to run in the background for quite some time yet. 

I’ve always been a fan of Chris Evans who has this great habit of making easy viewing films.  Evans has been my go to 90mins actor since Cellular.

PLOT:  Ryan (Chris Evans) is just some guy who answers his phone.  Nokia. Kidnap victim Jessica (Kim Basinger) is on the other end of the line and begs him for help. Nokia. Ryan must help Jessica whilst trying to save the kidnappers next victims – her husband and son. Nokia in a Porsche. Ryan fails and Jessica’s husband and son are promptly kidnapped. Nokia broken. It’s only after turning to the police that Ryan finds out not all is what it seems. Nokia saves the day.  END PLOT

Cellular is not a groundbreaking film by any standards but it is great fun.  The plot moves along at breakneck speed so you don’t have time to think about the ridiculousness of proceedings.

Chris Evans plays Ryan with high levels of gusto and manages to stop moments such as the phone charger robbery scene from becoming too over the top.

Kim Basinger overacts like hell and becomes the most simpering and pathetic female kidnap victim in history.  If I kidnapped her she would have been given several hard slaps.  Basinger's performance stood out for all the wrong reasons and needed toned down dramatically.  In fairness to Jessica she does have an impressive body count by the end of the film but it doesn't excuse the hand wringing awfulness.

Jason Statham is Cellular’s main bad guy and he scowls his way through the film whilst trying to remember that he is American.  All the characters are fairly generic but Statham fairs the worst.

Despite my enthusiasm for Chris Evans the real star of the show is William H Macy as Sgt Mooney.  Sgt Mooney is on the brink of retiring to open a beauty salon *cough* sorry day spa with his wife and the mystery over Jessica’s kidnapping is his final case.

Macy has some great lines and I loved his goldfish in a wine glass moment which is exactly as it sounds.  Macy also manages to defy gravity on several occasions with some impressive power-sliding.

The action is basic although decently executed and it fits in with the light-hearted tone of the film very well.

The score is essentially a remix of Nina Simone’s Sinnerman which bizarrely works in the chase scenes. 

Cellular is an extremely cheesy film but it has enough charm to get by.  I am not ashamed to admit that this film is my ultimate guilty pleasure. Cellular gets an affectionate 7.5/10.