True confession: I’m an asthmatic. Why is this relevant? When I laugh too much or too hard for too long, I can actually go into an asthma attack. It’s happened at several standup shows where the comedian has been so on and so hilarious that I’ve started wheezing because I’ve laughed so much (yes, I carry an inhaler). But it’s a rare thing when I need to worry about laughing so hard that I’ll stop breathing when I’m at the movies.

Spy is a comedy spoofing James Bond type movies, starring Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Rose Byrne, and Jude Law. And, as such, with any comedy that has movie trailers – and this one has several – the big question is: Do the trailers give away all the jokes?

The answer: No, not even close to all the jokes. This is, point of fact, one hell of a funny movie. And yes, I needed my inhaler.

McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a desk bound analyst agent who’s the eyes and information backup for Bradley Fine (Jude Law), a top C.I.A. operative. The C.I.A. is going after a small, portable nuke that’s about to be sold to the highest terrorists bidder and, after an accident that leaves the nuke’s creator dead, the only lead is his daughter, Rayna (Rose Byrne).

Rayna knows who all the top C.I.A. operatives are, however, and Fine’s death at Rayna’s hand means that someone has to go in who none of the bad guys will know. Susan offers herself, despite the concerns of the Assistant Deputy of the C.I.A. Elaine Crocker (an uncredited Allison Janney) and the protests of Rick Ford (Jason Statham), one of the top operatives, who goes rogue to stop the terrorists himself.

Once in Europe, Susan gets help, of a sort, from a local, extremely amorous operative Aldo (Peter Serafinowicz), and her co-worker and friend, Nancy (Miranda Hart), while running into and interference for Ford.

This sounds like a typical spy thriller plot, and it is. But it also isn’t. The script takes hilarious turns and just when you think you know where it’s going or what Susan’s going to do, the script zigs instead of zags, while still giving you a thrilling spy movie that has an extremely satisfying ending that’s earned, not given.

This is a feminist movie that gets its point across with humor. Fine has, in the words of Crocker, sniped Susan, so that she thinks she’s only good enough to be inside, not a field agent, even though she’s had the same training. But she’s really sniped herself, because she was raised to not make a fuss, to blend in, to be the good girl and let the men or “better” women, like agent Karen Walker (Morena Baccarin), handle it. Crocker sees what Susan can become, and gives her the chance she needs to not only save the day but to become the full person and operative she can be.

The plot moves along perfectly, the script is witty and tense, the locations are great as is the costuming, the action scenes are exciting and actually believable, and the acting is uniformly good, with great comedic timing abounding. Statham, for example, is hilarious, and even 50 Cent has a great cameo. Also, unlike some of McCarthy’s other movies, this one is low on gross-out humor while still having plenty of physical comedy.

And stick around for the end credits because not only is there a bit at the start and at the end of them, but the credits themselves have tons of fun things to read and look at, so it’s like a coda to the movie rather than just a long list of names and job titles.
It’s a rare movie that my husband likes as much as I do, but this one scores, because he and all the rest of the men (and women) in the audience were laughing their heads off. There are so many good lines and gags that I know we missed some, because the audience was laughing so loudly and long.

The best part about Spy? The funniest bits are not in the trailers. The trailers, in fact, have some of the weakest jokes. So, if you’re laughing at the trailers, get ready to laugh a lot more during the movie. And, if you’re an asthmatic, bring your inhaler.

Rating: A/5 stars