Spy

Spy - 120min - R

I have been a Melissa McCarthy fan for a while. I absolutely love her but her movies are a different story. Even in her worst film I have found her performances to be good. In Spy, she has found her vehicle. This movie is outstanding. It gives her a believable edge and makes this plus size superstar into an action heroine without playing the action for laughs. They address her size but it's never the brunt of the joke unless its calling out the absurdity of the stereotypes. She kicks ass and I hope that they make more of these because this is a franchise I would want to see more of.

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is a support person in the CIA office and she supports handsome and debonaire but also douchey James Bond-type field agent, Bradley Fine (Jude Law). She performed well in training but was pulled in by the charms of agent Fine to stay behind the scenes and help him. She harbors a crush on Fine and when he gets killed she is forced into the field to find his killer.

The filmmakers could have gone for the easy joke and made McCarthy's body type the main joke in this film but they don't. They do address the absurdity of underestimating her range with each cover story being a cat lady who is a retired lunch lady or the divorced mother of three kids who has won a trip to Europe. The mission takes a turn and she needs to step up her game and persona and becomes just as influential and beautiful as her dashing counterparts. After spending the first part of the mission in frumpy old lady cloths she has to infiltrate a casino so she goes to the store and dresses the part and she looks stunning. Wearing a stunning evening gown she waltzes into the casino and carries on the mission.

Jason Statham plays Rick Ford, a field agent who is completely a loose cannon. He plays the baboonish, bully chauvinist pig really well. He adds just enough tension to the scenes with McCarthy to cause her problems without ruining the mission. His motivation is to find Fine's killer but goes against what HQ says and makes it his personal mission to solve this case before McCarthy can. As a comedic tool (I mean that in both senses of the word), he does an outstanding job of making those pig headed ideas seem as absurd as they are in real life. And it's nice to see Statham have light fun with a role.

The Director (Paul Feig) has again proven he has great sense of comedic timing and the ability to tell a great story. He is an experienced actor in his own right. I think it translates well to getting the best performances from his team. This one and Bridesmaids are some stand out films for him as a director.

The trailers do this movie a disservice. They play up some of the obvious body image jokes that are only a small portion of this film. I have said this before that the team who makes the trailers are trying to get people in the door. It's a shame that the film seems so shallow from the trailers because there is so much more going on here.

Is there a performer that you absolutely love and continue to love even if they are in some stinker films?

St. Vincent

St. Vincent - 102min - PG13

This year’s films seem to be missing the emotional spark that lets you dive deep into the story. This movie should have been exactly what I needed. It's a very warm story that gives us a reminder that we need to not judge people. This move has all the elements for a green light film but falls sort of making a connection. They get a yellow light for the effort.

Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) and his mother Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) move next door to the world’s largest curmudgeon, Vincent (Bill Murray). Being tight on options, Maggie asks if Vincent can watch Oliver after school as she is a single mom with a job that keeps her late. He agrees and takes care of Oliver. Hummm, that’s a stretch. Better to say he takes Oliver around with him everywhere he goes.

They go to the track and to the nursing home where Vincent’s wife lives and to the strip club where he visits his “girlfriend” Daka (Naomi Watts). They go everywhere really. Their exploits are documented by Maggie’s husband, David (Scott Adsit) and used against her to gain joint custody of Oliver. During their journey, Oliver gets an assignment to find someone who has the qualities of a saint, and he picks Vincent

Some movies you can tell are going to be aiming for the heart strings. This is one of them. As I have stated before and if you follow me you know I am a sap when it comes to movies. I am an easy cry. I never had an emotional connection to the characters. It was a really great show with the right characters and with some really good performances but lacked spirit.

There seemed to be a lot of elements that bogged down the story. I think the subplot where Vincent had a stroke really was almost too much to add with the gambling debts. The other problem was the neatness of how everything was wrapped up. I was thinking through the film that there is not going to be an easy way out of this mess. It felt like the ending was forced and wasn't a natural resolution to his problems.

The underlying message not to judge others is solid. We are never fully understanding a person’s journey so we shouldn't make assumptions about people. In the story, Vincent plays a completely unlikable character, but he is a product of the choices and events in his life. Oliver is forced to spend time with him so he gets to see him in a different light. Oliver gives us the fresh perspective that we need to see past the gruff nasty exterior.

It's hard to give this movie a lower than green light because it is was defiantly trying very hard. The failures of the story were just too much to cram into the amount of time. They were trying way too hard to make the differences in Vincent noticeable. The only real connection is between Vincent and Oliver.

Chris O’Dowd needs to get more work. He is absolutely hilarious in this role as an unflappable Priest who assigned the class the task of finding Saints among us. The interaction between him and Maggie is outstanding. Overall the Director/ Writer / Producer (Theodore Melfi) did a good job of making a clean movie, He just needs to eliminate some of the distractors and he could have a really great product. He did an interview and said he doesn’t like to get his stink on a film. It is a stink free film, but it does need a stronger voice.

What movie have you seen that was just short of making a connection? 

Identity Thief

Identity Thief - 111Min – R

I am a Jason Bateman fan. I have followed his work from "It’s Your Move" on TV. I enjoyed Arrested Development and many of his other film projects Like Juno, Paul and Hancock. I say all this because I feel I need to clarify I love him, but I did not like this movie. It was flat and not very funny, primarily because the trailer has all of the good bits and the emotional connection is handled poorly so we don’t have any time to really get to know the characters. They run from gag to gag to gag and then I gagged. The only thing that gets stole is your time; this is a very red light film.

Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) lives with his wife (Amanda Peet) and his two kids, Fanny (Mary-Charles Jones) and Jessie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). He is going about his business when he gets a call from con artist, Diana (Melissa McCarthy) who convinces him to give her his personal information. She assumes his Identity, because Sandy is a unisex name, and goes on a wild spending spree in Miami. Sandy is arrested in his home in Denver because she was arrested and missed a court date. The police say their hands are tied and he can only clear his name if the person who stole his Identity comes to Denver and confesses. Sandy takes control and goes to Miami and tries to bring her back and hijinks ensue.

I said that all the good bits were in the trailer and perhaps that was a little harsh. There are other good things in the subplot of the movie but it was really too long a walk. I think the biggest problem with the movie is pacing and trying to add too many elements to this simple story. There is a sub plot with Robert Patrick playing a Bounty Hunter and some gangsters also chasing Diana, but all it does is take away time for us to start developing a relationship with Diana so we feel for her during the emotional moments. They just don’t give us time to start empathizing with her.

This should have been a good medium for the stars to really work their magic -- Bateman as the straight man McCarthy as the comedian -- that is a recipe for comedy gold. Maybe they didn’t take into account the altitude when cooking the story at the Denver.

Warring Spoilers!!!!! Please enter your social security number in the space provided to see them!!!!

I don’t like it when characters do not stay true to their character throughout the film, and if they change they need to suffer the consequences. Sandy decides to embrace the dark side and give his very deserving boss a little bit of his pain and steals his identity. He is now doing the thing that he is fighting against. What I don’t care for is how easy he jumped sides. He was in a tight spot but there are other methods of getting by. Then he is magically exonerated because Diana says it’s all her fault. I think he is still an accessory to the crime.

There is a bit where a snake bites Sandy on the neck and Diana beats him to death. The snake, not Sandy. The Snake was so CG-ish that I was distracted. The gag was just not as good and if you needed to get Sandy to start feeling something for Diana you could have had him fall or pass out from hitting his head on a branch. Then you can still have Diana looking like a hero for carrying him a half a mile to the road. It would have been better to watch her carry him as opposed to just saying she did. Having her rant about how heavy he is for the half mile would make for better comedy. Melissa McCarthy does some excellent comedy riffs in this movie and should have been give more space to just role with it.


Who are your favorite comedic comedy duos? Mine is Stallone and Russell. Tango and Cash is the best comedy ever.