Review: The Spy Who Dumped Me

Image courtesy of Lionsgate.

Susanna Fogel's "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is an odd combination of two movies - a silly comedy in which two best friends, Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon), find themselves mixed up in some overseas mayhem after Audrey finds out that her ex-boyfriend (Justin Theroux) is a spy, and a violent action movie in which two best friends find themselves mixed up in some overseas mayhem after one of them finds out that her boyfriend is a spy.

In terms of the comedy, there are a few laughs - but only a few, most notably McKinnon's failed attempt to speak French whilst in a library. Kunis gives the dry delivery, while McKinnon's character - a feminism loving seeker of adventure - is the kooky, loudmouthed one. As for the film's alter ego as an action movie, suffice it to say that while the predictable plot mechanics gel well enough with the comedy bits, the gory violence does not.

In the picture, Audrey is celebrating her 30th birthday with Morgan and wonders where her boyfriend, Drew (Theroux) - who never seems to be around for the important moments - is. There's an ongoing flashback in which Audrey and Drew meet that is completely unnecessary, not particularly funny or charming and completely wrong in its musical taste when one of the characters asks the other to pick the worst song on a jukebox at a bar and the song they choose is the Crash Test Dummies' "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm." I mean, seriously.

But shortly thereafter, Drew appears to be killed and the two women flee to Europe to deliver a secret package that is sought by various spies, assassins (including a psychotic former ballerina from some former Soviet Bloc country), CIA spooks and MI6 agents. Of course, Audrey and Morgan manage to slip their way out of one dangerous scenario after the next, besting professional killers and spies. The movie is preposterous and makes no attempt at plausible portrayals of the international world of spycraft.

Kunis and McKinnon have a nice rapport here - and, thankfully, the scene in every movie of this type in which the two characters have a brief falling out is missing here. There's also a nice dose of girl power - Morgan is constantly praising Audrey's intuitiveness and clever attempts at outwitting dumb men, and there's an amusing bit in which Morgan calls a tough MI6 character played by Gillian Anderson the "Beyonce of the government."

On the other hand, there's a whole lot of silly plot to wade through and more violence than feels comfortable in a goofy comedy such as this one. Characters' necks are broken - although there's one funny bit involving a European hostel dweller who comes to the women's rescue - while others are shot in the head, shot in the throat, shot pretty much everywhere. So, while "The Spy Who Dumped Me" has its moments - mostly due to its two leads' camaraderie - it blends two methods of telling the same story in a manner that results in each style getting in the other's way.