Respond to these rapid questions in our The Spy Who Dumped Me quiz and we will tell you which The Spy Who Dumped Me character you are. Play it now.
It would appear that the pairing of Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon in an R-rated action comedy would be the ideal late-summer diversion. It’s been years since both actresses have proven that they’re up for any challenge, and their contrasting styles held the promise of a giddy, combustible chemistry. McKinnon is a wild, daring whirlwind, and Kunis is a sly, biting deadpan with a wicked sense of humour.
When it comes to “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” the comedy isn’t (completely) the problem; in fact, the title is more clever than the film itself. It is the extreme violence that serves as a startling contrast to the otherwise lighthearted antics. The assassinations are actually more extravagant than those you might expect to see in a traditional spy film, which I suppose is the point. For all intents and purposes, this is intended to be both a parody of the genre and a straightforward example of it, which is a difficult feat to pull off unless you’re Edgar Wright. Susanna Fogel, the film’s director and co-writer, struggles to strike a balance between the comedy and the action, a problem that only becomes more apparent as the film’s overlong running time progresses.
Then there’s the fundamental theme of enduring female friendship, which runs through all of the characters’ globetrotting misadventures—of two women who stick by each other no matter what and ultimately help each other discover their long-elusive life purpose. It’s an interesting concept to consider, especially coming from a female filmmaker during the male-dominated bloat of the summer film festival season. However, if the characters in question had been given more time to develop, that element would have resonated even more strongly. As things stand, each woman is little more than a collection of quirks—albeit amusing ones—that are thrown together.
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Audrey and Morgan are best friends and roommates who share a modest Los Angeles apartment with Kunis and McKinnon, who also co-stars in the film. Audrey works as a cashier at a grocery store similar to Trader Joe’s, and Morgan is an actress who is out of work. Audrey is a nervous, indecisive person who never seems to finish anything she starts; Morgan is a born performer who is eager to take in everything she can. The two friends learn that Audrey’s boyfriend, Drew (Justin Theroux), was a secret spies when he dumps her through text messages. (Their confusion about what his day job was provides one of the more amusing moments in the script written by Fogel and David Iserson.)
The Spy Who Dumped Me Quiz
Following the assassination of their son, Drew, by well-armed assailants in their own home, Audrey and Morgan realize they must carry out his mission, which will take them to cities such as Vienna, Prague, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and other locations around the world. They have to protect and deliver something that is extremely important, and it is the most McGuffiny of McGuffins, but it does allow for a couple of amusing sight gags.
Also, you will find out which character are you in this The Spy Who Dumped Me quiz.
A large part of the enjoyment of “The Spy Who Dumped Me” comes from watching these women figure out how to survive one dangerous situation after another while gaining a little more confidence with each one, much like the structurally similar but vastly superior “Spy,” which served as an excellent showcase for the brilliant and fearless Melissa McCarthy. As the antics of the zany, fish-out-of-water characters give way to actual strategy and savvy Audrey discovers the confidence she’s always lacked, while Morgan learns to keep hers under control. They are, however, graphic and intense in a way that consistently leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth after experiencing them. There are numerous insane stabbings and shootings, as well as an inventive use of a fondue pot. During a barrage of gunfire, an entire restaurant full of patrons is completely destroyed. It is the cold pleasure of an Olympic gymnast-turned-assassin (Ivanna Sakhno, whose looks are evocative of a villainous Miley Cyrus) to beat and torture our heroines that she takes pleasure in.
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“The Spy Who Dumped Me” jumps back and forth between shocking violence and lighthearted comedy, but it only occasionally manages to bring the two together in a satisfying way. In one of the few instances in which it succeeds, McKinnon’s character puts her trapeze skills to use in a Berlin circus performance, but that scene, like so many others, drags on for far too long.
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On the other hand, the film has a fantastic supporting cast of actors who don’t get to do nearly enough in the film. Several tantalizing scenes feature McKinnon conversing on the phone with Jane Curtin and Paul Reiser, who play Morgan’s parents back in New Jersey; it’s a fun bit of casting that will leave you wishing for even more. Fred Melamed, who is always a pleasure to watch, appears in only one scene, which is frustratingly brief. A flirtation between McKinnon and Gillian Anderson’s rigid MI6 boss is both sparky and underdeveloped, and the scene is one of the film’s highlights. Audrey, on the other hand, is on the verge of embarking on an unlikely romance with a hunky British agent (Sam Heughan), who may turn out to be more trustworthy than her previous spy boyfriend. He might not, on the other hand.
When it comes to carrying the weight of all this plot and mayhem on her ever-capable shoulders, McKinnon can only do so much. When it comes to comic presence, she can be as thrillingly unpredictable as she is here, where she is almost confined to a one-note role. Her ability to punctuate a moment with an appropriately timed eye bulge or to emphasize a specific word while infusing a whole line with off-kilter meaning is unquestionable. While her one-of-a-kind approach can be appreciated when the figure she’s portraying isn’t complex, it can become grating when the figure she’s portraying is merely superficial, as was the case the past two summers in the “Ghostbusters” reboot and “Rough Night.”
It’s possible that by next summer, we’ll finally have a comedy that makes the most of McKinnon’s considerable talent. It’s unlikely that there will be a sequel to “The Spy Who Dumped Me,” as the ending of this episode suggests.
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