#susannafogel

[doohicky]

Teenage angst by route of Whedonesque empowerment and Lord of the Flies, that even with all the estrogen avoids the melodramatic pitfalls of Lost's brooding pecs and suspiciously shaved legs, and delivers a balanced approach to coming of age in the #metoo era - The Wilds (it's not paranoia when you're right) #thewilds #susannafogel #amazon https://www.instagram.com/p/CJKCPFsMQpt/?utm_medium=tumblr

[doomonfilm]

Review : The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

I often think about movie premises of the past, and wonder why I do not see them more these days.  Perfect example : If Looks Could Kill, the story of a high-school trip to Europe that ends up with Richard Greico essentially becoming a teenage James Bond, all due to a case of mistaken identity.  The accidental spy premise, on paper, is gold, and in the hands of a capable director and cast, can really be something special.  Cut to 2018, and director Susanna Fogel has recruited Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon for the hugely enjoyable The Spy Who Dumped Me. 

Audrey (Mila Kunis) finds herself freshly dumped on her birthday by her boyfriend Drew (Justin Theroux).  With best friend Morgan (Kate McKinnon) by her side, the two decide to burn all of his belongings.  Little do the two know, however, that Drew is actually a CIA operative neck-deep in a mission that could potentially threaten the lives of innocent people around the world.  The two become aware, however, when agents Sebastian (Sam Heughan) and Duffer (Hasan Minhaj) inform Audrey of this fact shortly before Drew returns to Audrey’s apartment to ‘pick up his things’.  Drew is accompanied by a hail of gunfire, and just before he is shot, he instructs Audrey to take a trophy in his possession to Vienna in order to hand it off to another operative.  Scared, confused and unsure of what to do, Audrey and Morgan head to Vienna for what turns out to be the adventure of their lives.

When it comes to multi-genre films, the importance of making sure you hit the mark on those genres is amplified, and in terms of the comedy side of action-comedy, The Spy Who Dumped Me excels, even beyond expectations one may have coming in to the film.  I’ve never been the biggest fan of Mila Kunis, but her comedic chops are undeniable in this film : her timing is impeccable, her physical comedy works well both in terms of body control and facial expressions, and she plays a wonderful straight man.  Having a straight man, of course, implies an over the top character, and Kate McKinnon puts another notch in her over the top belt.  She manages to work silly and quite broad without taking us out of the overall mood or tone of the film.  Add in lots of underplayed humorous moments from Gillian Anderson, Hasan Minhaj, Ivanna Sakhno and more, and the laughs truly never stop.

The true surprise, however, is how capable and on-point the action film side of things are.  For any spy movie, you have to have great locations, and this film does not disappoint : Los Angeles, Vienna, Prague, Paris and Berlin all play into the film quite wonderfully, with key locations in those cities being utilized without unintentionally making those locations the star.  The action beats are extremely impressive, with several shots of incredibly dangerous stunts ending up as single takes rather than intercut pieces, making them seem that much more realistic.  There may very well be a billion bullets in the film, and the body count is pretty impressive, as is the hand to hand combat.  Even Kunis and McKinnon get in on the action without being asked to do anything too extreme, thus wonderfully integrating them into both the action and comedic aspects of the film.

Despite there being a handful of obvious tropes that, at this point, have to be integrated into a film of this nature, nothing seems bland, stale or obvious.  The muscle/enforcer used by the bad guy is turned on its ear via the use of Nadedja (Ivanna Sakhno), a failed Olympic gymnast turned model, masochist and killing machine.  Wendy (Gillian Anderson) is certainly not the first female boss in the world of spies (M, anyone?), but casting Scully to play her gets a true chuckle.  The old trope of two spies working for the same operation, but one is rogue and therefore untrustworthy, is amplified when put into the context of current boyfriend vs. potential new boyfriend.  Even that old trope of ‘I happen to know someone’ at a key moment is given new life via the injection of Edward Snowden (Tom Stourton) into the narrative.

I think this film may have finally made me a Mila Kunis fan, as she is incredibly infectious with her personality and enjoyable to watch in the film.  I will always be a Kate McKinnon fan, and she brings her A-game to the table for this project.  Justin Theroux plays a convincing spy, oozing confidence and capability while always seeming to have more to him than is let on.  By contrast, Sam Heughan also plays a competent spy, but one that is a bit more altruistic and caring of is peers and those he’s supposed to protect.  Hasan Minhaj plays one of many protagonist, as well as providing a ton of comic relief from the espionage side of things.  Ivanna Sakhno and her steely demeanor play well for the film, making her one of the most memorable characters in the story.  Wonderful appearances by Gillian Anderson, Fred Melamed, Jane Curtin and Paul Reiser help round out things.

In all honesty, my expectations were not that high going in to this film.  I knew it’d more than likely be funny, but the action pedigree of the film really made me sit up and take notice.  For those unable to see Mission Impossible : Fallout due to sold out crowds and Moviepass issues, The Spy Who Dumped Me is an extremely suitable substitute, and will probably make you laugh infinitely more.

[yaquelin25]

#Repost from @barbaramills22 by @quicksave.app ・・・ #NYC premiere #spywhodumpedme #SamHeughan #MilaKunis #KateMcKinnon #JustinTheroux #IvannoSakhno #susannafogel #HasanMinhaj #davidiserson Regrann from @ceriouslydevine - That’s a wrap on @spywhodumpedme 👯‍♀️👏🏼 Thank you @marikofreako for being amazing 😘 #spywhodumpedme #InstaSaveApp #QuickSaveApp