The Spy Who Dumped Me

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Last weekend I had the opportunity to get into the theater in person for the first time in weeks.  Now that I've moved to a smaller town, my options are a bit limited when it comes to the quality of the theaters in the area.  That being said, the one that is relatively close to my home gets most of the more mainstream titles so I will at least get to see those.


I've been seeing the previews for the Spy Who Dumped Me for a while.  It stars Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon as two best friends who are swept up into a spy vs. spy scenario.  The two run to Europe which is where the majority of the action takes place.  They find themselves in multiple ridiculous scenarios in order to attempt to save the day.


Here's the deal guys, this movie isn't the best.  It's certainly not the worst though.  If you're a fan of either of the two main stars, you'll probably enjoy it.


Several things stood out to me in the movie.  The first was the dialogue.  Most of the time, the dialogue felt flat and even a little mundane.  There were some shining moments when it felt like the actors were allowed to riff a little more.  One quote from McKinnon's character elicited an extra hearty laugh from me.  When addressing the CIA director and the fact that she is a feminine woman in a position of power: "I have so much respect for you that is has circled back around to objectification."  When said with McKinnon's wide eyed wonder stare, it quickly became my favorite line of the movie.


I think one of the things that this movie did best was show women supporting women.  The two main characters are clearly close.  Best friends for over a decade.  They lift each other up and help each other out.  Typically in these types of movies there is some lie or catalyst that will break the team up only to have them come back together at the end in order to save the day.  There is that kind of moment in this movie, but when one of them wants to quit and go home; the other supports the decision with love and kindness…even though she's clearly disappointed.  What starts out as a spy movie turns out to be a movie about the power of female friendships.