Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux, Sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, Gillian Anderson, Dustin Demri-Burns, Mirjam Novak, Jane Curtin, Paul Reiser, Ivanna Sakhno, Fred Melamed, James Fleet, Carolyn Pickles, Justin Wachsberger, Kevin Ezekiel Ogunleye, Tom Stourton, Roderick Hill, Olafur Darri Olafsson.
When a film doesn’t know what it wants to be, perhaps the best thing that an audience can do is allow it to flow naturally and under its own progression. Putting a film into a genre specific box sometimes doesn’t fit, too many square edges, a piece of corner missing, and allusion to subtext which has no space to breathe; and yet flow it does, it somehow squeezes past defiance and nestles in the hole it has walked with confidence into and refuses to budge.
The Spy Who Dumped Me, a cinematic title perhaps that on paper doesn’t scream out loud that it is going to have the potential to leave the audience quoting a line from it in conversation later, and for all the love in the world that cinema goers may have for Michael Myers and the Austin Powers series of films, it immediately rankles and leaves an unscratchable itch that it will date very quickly, that the film will be more farce than seriously inclined comedy.
Names can be deceptive, names can lead you down a road of instant prejudice, and it is with reluctance that a potential audience member can find a reason to go and watch the film; however see beyond, open your mind to the possibility and embrace the end result, for in the Mila Kunis/Kate McKinnon buddy film, what comes across more than anything is the warmth and dedication to providing essentially a mixed genre feel good film, one that will endeavour to make you laugh, and one that succeeds often.
Whilst the 2016 version of Ghostbusters divided opinion amongst fans and purist alike of the 1984 classic, and even in terms of gender appreciation and politics, what came out unquestionably of that was the comedy of Kate McKinnon a talent that light up a room and a willingness to just go that little bit unexpectedly off the wall. In many ways reminiscent of the great Robin Williams, perhaps with not so much mania or wildness but with a sincerity to explore the potential in any scene and take it one step further. It is a personal proposition that she has continued in The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Susanna Fogel’s and David Iserson’s script is likeable, it is directed with observance and style and the lead up and delivery to the stunt work is outstanding; who cares about fitting into a particular genre when a film can effectively do what it likes, not be bound by strict, almost religious convention, and come up with the goods. The Spy Who Dumped Me throws down a gauntlet, more so than the 2016 version of Ghostbusters could, it defies category, it spits on the window of convention and yet still provides some very amusing moments and generous cinema scope; an unexpected worthy film to abandon your busy time to.
Ian D. Hall