by Herbie J Pilato
Except for the overt, excessive, grotesque, and bloody violence that pervades and apparently has to be part of every movie-going experience today (drama or comedy, horror, adventure or otherwise), everything visual about SPY is beautiful, including it’s dynamic leading leading, Melissa McCarthy, and her co-stars Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Miranda Hart, Jason Strathram, Bobby Cannavale, and Peter Serafinowicz.
Unfortunately, their beauty gets lost each and every time one of them opens their mouths.
As a result, what could have been one of the most perfect adventure-secret agent feature films this side of the best of James Bond on the big-screen is instead disturbing.
“F-this,” “F-that,” “Mother-f this,” “Mother-f that.”
But for real? Are they kidding? Or should I say screenwriter/director Paul Feig…is he kidding? How many millions is he making off of regurgitating common, street words?
Beyond the offensive and unnecessary barrage of f-bombs, however, the main characters frequently break-character as much as some of the dead extra characters break wind and die.
How many millions is Feig making off of presenting indistinguishable characters that speak lines that any other indistinguishable character on screen could speak? Or how many millions is he making off of frequently and consistently sacrificing a character just for the sake of a joke? Or to have one character blur into the other, appearing constipated at every turn?
I had a challenging day before I went to see this film, and I specifically chose a comedy to help brighten my night.
But that didn’t happen.
I laughed out-loud over a few scenes, but I didn’t laugh enough. In fact, I found myself cringing.
The hardest part of viewing and listening to this movie?
Walking out of the theatre, and noticing three feet beside me a young father and his little son who could not have been more than nine-years-old.
They walked out in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other.
I was sadder leaving the theatre then when I first walked in.
Herbie J Pilato is a Contributing Editor to TVWriter™. You can learn more about him HERE.
