I tend to avoid films marketed to women, especially when relationships seem to be a prominent part of the plot, because they are usually formulaic, dumb and insulting to my intelligence. I never even considered watching The Spy Who Dumped Me. It did not land in a queue on any platform. When I watched A Simple Favor, I saw the preview, and Kate McKinnon completely changed my mind after her character sees Gillian Anderson and exclaimed, “We have a real-life Judi Dench in our midst. You are the boss, and yet you have not sacrificed one ounce of feminity…That is the Beyonce of the government.” Adoration of The X-Files’ Scully is my love language. I was in! It also did not hurt that A Simple Favor was awesome so I could trust that the quality of its previews.
Maybe I was vulnerable because I had seen a ton of bad movies before A Simple Favor and The Spy Who Dumped Me, but I have since seen the latter repeatedly, and it is funnier now that I can see the joke grenades when the pin gets pulled, not just when they go off. If you think that I have no taste because of the pandemic, I watched it way before, and the director and co-writer is Susanna Fogel, who subsequently wrote a little movie named Booksmart, which was one of the best comedies of 2019.
The Spy Who Dumped Me stars Mila Kunis as Audrey, the titular character. (Yes, we are supposed to think of Kunis as an ordinary woman. Go with it.) It is her worst birthday ever. She turned thirty, and her boyfriend dumped her, but not because she is a nobody with a dead-end job and no talent. People want him dead and want to steal something from him. He asks her to complete his mission, and her ride or die zany best friend, Morgan, played by McKinnon, encourages her to do it. They go on a European action-packed adventure to complete the mission, but it becomes a journey of self-discovery as they discover how strong their friendship is, and that Audrey actually does have a gift! Video games are good for something.
I loved The Spy Who Dumped Me for the same reason that many reviewers did not: the violence. I love action movies so regardless of how hilarious the film was, if the action pulled punches, I would have been bored and mentally checked out for huge swaths of the story, which would have destroyed the narrative’s momentum. The first half of the film toggles between her birthday now and a year ago, which allows us to see how she got together with her spy boyfriend, what she is lacking and what she has.
Other reviewers found the blend of comedy and action dissonant and jarring. The Spy Who Dumped Me was a solid action film, and the stunts were stunning. I loved the way that Fogel visually distinguished the genres then gradually blended them together-a greyer, more subdued, grittier palette during the action scenes and colorful during the normal scenes. If you do not like action films or violence, then definitely skip it, and I kind of hated that the reviewers for this film clearly belonged in that category. This film is not for you! Not all girls are like, “Ew, blood. Why are you fighting? I have to close my eyes. I can’t watch this. I would rather eat salad while laughing in white pants.” And if you are one of those girls, stop yucking my yum! Girls are not a monolith! Some of us enjoy watching people hurt each other. Fogel did not introduce the action so that guys would not be bored if their girlfriends made them see this movie. (Right?) My only complaint about the action is that there were a few moves that should have been mortal blows, but were only used as minor physical setbacks.
The Spy Who Dumped Me is fun because of the tonal clash. When a professional bad guy tortures them, she is incredulous at the absurdity of the encounter. Imagine forcing McKinnon to speak, and the crazy crap that she says when she is not under duress. She is a comedic genius, and this film was a wonderful showcase for her talents. The entire cast is clearly filled with professionals for not constantly cracking up every time that McKinnon utters a word. There is reason behind her madness. She creates a credible character with a history—the bits with her unfazed parents are priceless, inclinations and motives. There is a point when she reveals her vulnerability, and it feels integral to the character, not an exploitive sweet point churned out by a computer that makes screen plays. Also McKinnon is so pretty. People do not notice that enough.
The Spy Who Dumped Me also won me over because unlike Booksmart and most movies about friendship, there is no contrived conflict that threatens the friendship. The joy of the film is Kunis and McKinnon’s perfectly, complementary chemistry: their casual loving insults, the way that they can mess with each other, the constant enthusiasm at sharing and spending time together and how they crack each other up. It is a delight and genuine. The movie signals that someone is bad if they are not as into their closeness as they are. When there is one scene in which a lesser movie would use a plot point as a wedge, this film uses it as a punchline for encouragement. Throughout the entire film, Morgan tries to get Audrey to stop being mean to and appreciate her best friend. It is a trademark of all friendships-rooting harder for your friend than she roots for herself.
I enjoyed The Spy Who Dumped Me so much that I will even accept the romantic storyline and the oversimplification of spy craft as a chance to see the world and have adventures. I am probably the only person on Earth who thinks of Sam Heughan as the poor man’s Alexander Skarsgard. I live under a rock and have never seen Outlander so I did not instantly recognize him and scream in delight when he appeared. I do not think that I have ever seen Heughan in anything before this movie, and I appreciate his performance the more that I see this film. I also liked the way that the character was written. Because he likes hanging out with Morgan as much as Audrey does, it can work. Justin Theroux’s dry humor had the leg up because he clearly seemed just as comfortable in the funny scenes as the action.
If you wrote off The Spy Who Dumped Me because you thought that Hollywood was just cynically trying to exploit Melissa McCarthy’s Spy success, you may be right, but you would be wrong to stay away from this film. It is the right kind of stupid, and I cannot stop laughing even when I know what is coming. I would give it your full attention so you do not miss the physical humor and the impressive fighting. I apologize for not seeing it in theaters. Fogel, I owe you a blank check for your next movie.