Film of the Week: The Spy Who Dumped Me

The Spy Who Dumped Me had a mixture of what has been done before, and an original take on the genre. Countless films have the plot where a character discovers someone close to them is a secret agent of some sort, and so this film needed to do something different to keep that plot fresh. What drives this film forward isn’t entirely down to the mission Audrey Stockton (Mila Kunis) and Morgan Freeman (Kate McKinnon) gets dragged into a mission to destroy a flash drive, but instead the strong friendship the two characters have between them. In each scene, despite the desperate times, they prove just how good a friends they really are, but getting along.

There’s usually a moment about three-quarters through the film where the characters are tested, they fight, they break up but discover they need each other. Those scenes are the final push for developing those characters, but in this film, they don’t fall out once. They remain as good friends as they started out as; by the end, their friendship has grown even stronger. I was waiting for the inevitable fight between them, but it never happened. There were a few dire situations which normally leads to that fight – but keeping them as friends was a good decision, and as a result kept the film entertaining.

The film overall wasn’t filled with laugh out loud moments, and of course two complete novices in spy work overpowering professionals is a staple among these types of films and was therefore to be expected, but The Spy Who Dumped Me built around that template and due to keeping the characters as strong friends, allowed for original humour which kept me watching, wondering how they were going to overcome whoever was behind the operation of retrieving the flash drive. I was pleased to reach the end, for all the right reasons, as the twist at the end concerning Augrey’s former boyfriend was completely unexpected. It’s common for these types of films to have the two romantic interests grow stronger afterward, but not having that happen was a fresh take.

I was expecting the same standard template most films in this genre follow, so having something different was surprising. I would recommend this film, but it isn’t necessarily a family friendly one. The humour can be crude, there’s plenty of swear words, and the violence, whilst fleeting, is a little intense in some areas, but all of these scenes are cleverly overshadowed by Audrey’s and Morgan’s friendship, which does generate most of the humour, even in some of the worst situations.

Mila’s and Kate’s onscreen chemistry was the perfect match for this film. Much like The Hitman’s Bodyguard, where the plot is basic and clichéd, but the chemistry between the two lead characters and the actors playing them were genuine – they were having fun playing their roles. I saw that in The Spy Who Dumped Me. Everyone was having fun making this film, which translated into the necessary vibes so we, the audience, would enjoy watching.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)