The Spy Who Dumped Me

Quickly Googling The Spy Who Dumped Me will return some pretty mixed reviews. Certainly, the movie won’t be winning any Oscars any time soon – not even that new one they’ve just added. But it’s not trying to, and it’s pointless to judge this flick as if it is. It’s not high art, and it knows it, making cheap testicle jokes in the face of Balzac (not the film’s best work) and brilliantly riffing on the classic romcom-chick-flick trope of Americans wanting to see “Urup” before they die. Make no mistake, though, The Spy Who Dumped Me is a very enjoyable way to spend two hours – through the last 30 minutes do drag a bit.

Admittedly, the plot isn’t particularly inventive or wildly original. Such as it is, the narrative revolves around two friends, Morgan (Kate McKinnon) and Audrey (Mila Kunis) carrying out the last request of the latter’s boyfriend, Drew (Justin Theroux). Drew dumps Audrey, then un-dumps her (because he was really just a spy who wanted to protect her while he went off to do spy stuff for a bit), and then promptly dies, all in the opening ten minutes. Our duo must deliver the only possession of his they didn’t burn (after the initial dumping), a second-place fantasy football trophy, to Verne in Vienna.

We’re then treated to fast cars, guns and iconic landmarks in a whole host of European capitals while our heroines fight off everyone from a former gymnast-turned-assassin to an ex’s parents with their friendship, their bodies… and more guns.

The film’s success is due in large part to McKinnon’s performance, which is worth the price of admission alone. She’s ably supported by Mila Kunis, although her character, Audrey, is very much the straight foil to her friend who’s a “bit much” for everyone else. Sebastian (Sam Heughan) is a former colleague of Drew’s whose jawline is chiselled from stone but who has as much personality as one might expect, and Duffer (Hasan Minhaj) is a bit of a dull jobsworth who might ask if he could just please see that license to kill you have there.

Yes, the film is too long. Yes, the plot’s not wildly original. But The Spy Who Dumped Me is a bold, brash Road-Trip romcom and good summer fun that does have genuine laughs on topics ranging from Mozart to NPR – and who can say they expected to read that.

Will Almond

The Spy Who Dumped Me is released nationwide on 22^nd August 2018.

Watch the trailer for The Spy Who Dumped Me here: