Before the summer movie season formally began, I checked out various lists of (in some cases then) upcoming films and found myself looking forward to a precious few.  There was Mad Max Fury Road (seen it), Furious 7 (was curious but decided to wait for the home video release), Avengers: Age of Ultron (ditto, at least for the moment), and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation.

Summer usually means action, action, and more action, and at least with regard to the films listed above, this was most certainly the case.

There was at least one other film, however, that didn’t seem to fit in with that mold and, at least based on the trailers, looked to me like it could be a lot of fun: The Paul Feig directed/written, Melissa McCarthy starring comedy vehicle Spy.  The red band trailer is presented below.  Careful for the decidedly NSFW dialogue spoken with!

Okay, first off: I know there are those who aren’t fans of Ms. McCarthy.  I can understand.  There are some “comedians” out there releasing movies on a regular basis I have absolutely no interest in seeing.  Further, I know there are also those who don’t like comedies with raunchy dialogue, something that is a Paul Feig specialty.

Me?  I like raunchy dialogue, if done well.  I also like Ms. McCarthy, so going in to see this was a no-brainer.

And as it turned out, with Spy I’ve found all three of Ms. McCarthy’s movie appearances in films directed by Mr. Feig to be a hoot (the other two were Bridesmaids and The Heat).

What makes Spy so good is that although it is a starring vehicle for a very hilarious Ms. McCarthy (the first time she is as with Bridesmaids she was a supporting character and in The Heat she was a co-star with Sandra Bullock), the supporting cast is also quite terrific.  Special mention has to be made to two co-stars in particular, Jason Statham and Rose Byrne (I don’t want to slight the other actors, particularly Jude Law who gives a terrific turn as a pseudo-James Bond, but his role is a little more straightforward and not meant to be as humorous).

Jason Statham is glorious as Rick Ford, a Clint Eastwood-esq “bad ass” secret agent whose legend, it becomes apparent rather quickly, is in his own mind.  His preposterous character appears to be the missing genetic link between Yosemite Sam and the Tasmanian Devil and every scene he’s in is an absolute delight.

So too it is with Rose Byrne who brings a cool, razor sharp wit to her role as Rayna Boyanov, the movie’s main villain.  While testosterone (over) fueled Rick Ford is the walking definition of a bull in a china shop, Rayna is Euro-Cool to the extreme and whenever she’s with Melissa McCartney’s not-quite superspy they engage in some devastatingly funny (and raunchy) verbal jabs.

As for the movie’s plot…well, it may not be the most logical thing in the world, but it is more than enough to keep things interesting.

One final note: while Spy is a comedy, its humor comes from the characters.  The movie itself is not a parody of the superspy genre.  In fact, there are some pretty brutal action sequences sprinkled throughout, in particular a close quarter fight in a kitchen.  Though it might seem incongruous for a comedy, this film does feature its share of gory/bloody stuff.

With all the above said, it should be obvious I highly recommend Spy to anyone who likes what they’ve seen/read.  While it may not be one of my all time favorite comedies of all time, Spy is a damn good time.

Personally, I hope we get to see the further adventures featuring the entire cast.  Give me more Rick Ford!