2264. The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

Starring: Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux

Director: Susanna Fogel

Running Time: 117 mins

The Spy Who Dumped Me is an American film about a woman who, after discovering that her ex-boyfriend was a spy, finds herself caught up in the middle of an international crisis as she travels to Europe with her best friend to try and save what her ex failed to.

This isn’t the funniest movie ever made, nor is it the most riveting spy story ever told, but The Spy Who Dumped Me is still light-hearted and fluffy enough throughout to provide a simple, easy-going watch. With fun lead performnaces, some good jokes here and there, and a very entertaining final act, it’s a movie that’s never really boring or dull, and does the job when it comes to providing two hours of solid and simple entertainment.

There isn’t all that much to rave about with The Spy Who Dumped Me, but the important thing is that it’s an enjoyable and engaging watch right the way through. The opening act is a lot more comedic, as we come to know the two main characters and the ridiculous way in which they ended up being the target of all the world’s criminals, while the latter half of the film plays a lot more on the spy genre, and does a good job at keeping you engaged with its light but fun story.

So, there’s pretty much something for everyone here. Whether you want a good laugh, or want something a little more action-oriented, The Spy Who Dumped Me can satisfy you. Again, it’s not absolutely golden, and the existence of far better action comedies like Spy is always in the back of your mind throughout, but it’s still enough to give you a thoroughly enjoyable two hours.

The lead performances are pretty fun throughout, with Mila Kunis an enjoyable central presence, and Kate McKinnon putting in a lot of effort as the comic relief, playing the silly best friend who ends up involved in all the mess as well. Of the two, Kunis is a little more entertaining, simply because McKinnon, no matter how much the movie tries to deny it, is a little much, and her overtly manic persona is a cause for quite a bit of annoyance throughout, although she does provide some of the film’s better laughs too.

On the downside, I have to say that director Susanna Fogel, while managing to make an excellently silly and light-hearted comedy, doesn’t really pull off the action-spy side of things quite as convincingly. The first act, above all, sees the comedy and the action clash rather strongly, as while we’re watching some very fluffy humour play out, there’s a lot of rather hard and even gory action that comes out of absolutely nowhere.

If you remember The Hitman’s Bodyguard with Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, that was another example of this problem, where the fun, throwaway nature of a comedy is somewhat dampened by a brand of action and violence that’s a lot more heavy-going than should be the case.

Fortunately, the film irons that out as it goes along, and the final act is a lot more farcical on both the action and comedy fronts, with a lot more focus brought to parodying the spy genre, and getting our two leading ladies into as many ridiculous situations as possible.

Overall, I had fun with The Spy Who Dumped Me. It’s not an amazing film by any means, and it doesn’t quite pull off the spy-comedy genre as well as many others, however it’s light-hearted and fluffy enough to prove fully enjoyable and engaging right the way through, which is why I’m giving it a 7.2.