My Spy an unlikely charmer
My Spy (PG, 102mins) Directed by Peter Segal Reviewed by James Croot ★★★
As a member of Special Forces, his record was impeccable. Sadly, as an agent for the CIA, JJ Cena (Dave Bautista) is not so great at the spy stuff.
After his last mission to infiltrate a plutonium sale went pear-shaped (when he killed everyone), he is given one last chance. Teamed up with tech Bobbi Ault (Kristen Schaal), their job is to conduct surveillance on the Chicago-based sister-in-law and niece of a nefarious ne’er-do-well. It seems like a simple task. However, the pair haven’t encountered anyone like Sophie Newton (Chloe Coleman) before.
A French-obsessed 9-year-old, she’s struggled to fit in to her new life since relocating to the Windy City after the death of her father. But with an eye for detail and some mad skills, it isn’t long before she’s knocking on JJ and Bobbi’s door with one of their cameras in her hand.
Desperate for this humiliation to not get back to Langley, JJ reluctantly agrees to Sophie’s demands to take her ice-skating.
Pretty soon, he’s attending her school’s Parents and Special Friends Day and making protein shakes and grilled cheese in her and her mum’s apartment. This just might be the relationship (other than with his fish Bluebell) he needs. Then again, it also might be the one that ruins his career – and threatens national security.
From its soundtrack to its slomo sequences, Eastern European bad guys and Notting Hill references, director Peter Segal’s (The Naked Gun 331⁄3, Get Smart) action-comedy feels very much like a throwback to the 1990s. That means it also includes some rather outdated values, stereotypes and cringeworthy dance sequences.
But while the action and drama aren’t exactly Leon level, the comedic moments offer up more hits than misses. As he has shown in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies (and less so in last year’s awful Stuber), former wrestler Bautista is adept at both physical and verbal humour and, teamed with former Flight of the Concords’ co-star Schaal, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments for viewers of all ages.
The Fancy Nancy-esque Coleman (Big Little Lies) also proves to be a charismatic lead, displaying just the right amount of sass to delight both my 9-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter (as well as a group of cackling seniors elsewhere in the cinema).
So while its wildly uneven and boasts both a paper-thin plot and a heavy dose of saccharine schmaltz, My Spy delivers on pyrotechnics, old school pop-culture references and crowdpleasing antics. And it’s way better than Kindergarten Cop or Cop-and-a-Half.