Like most of the movies I have seen in the past decade, I didn't know much about this movie when it was released. I presumed that since it was starring Melissa McCarthy that it would be a comedy.

h

Melissa McCarthy plays Susan Cooper. A woman in her 40's that works for the CIA in a support role, normally controlling all the extra resources necessary for field agent spies to carry out their exotic missions. The main person she assists is Bradly Fine (Jude Law,) who she also has a thing for.

When a mission gets botched, somehow the identity of all active field agents is released and now no one is able to operate without being identified immediately. This is where it is revealed that Susan Cooper is actually a full-fledged agent herself and is quite the bad ass in a fight. None of her colleagues were aware of this, even her boss. Because they have no other choice, they allow Susan to go into the field. However, she gets treated a bit differently than than you would expect James Bond or some other super-spy to.

The identity she is given, instead of being glamorous and sexy, is quite demeaning.

Her cover story is that she sold the most Mary Kay products and won a trip to Paris, in her wallet is a picture of her with her 7 cats and of course she gets costumes that make her look like a tool. Rather than drinking cocktails in a exotic hotel as 007 would, she gets dropped off at the shadiest looking hotel ever. When she is getting out of the cab she can see rats running around inside the sign of her accommodation.

The movies is filled with situations like this - about how Susan has a really difficult time getting any respect from anyone that she is working with or chasing - but she doesn't let this thwart her from the task at hand.

I think one of the most amusing aspects of the film is Jason Statham's character "Ford." He is a long-term CIA agent who takes his job incredibly seriously and has harrowing stories of accomplishment that are so intense that they aren't possible (something about having his arm severed and reattaching it using only a hotel sewing kit and his other arm.) The reason why this is funny is because let's take a look at Statham: He isn't exactly a multi-faceted actor. His character is essentially the same in every movie and for him to take this role is actually showing that he is prepared to make fun of the type of character he always plays in movies: The unstoppable tough guy.

To be fair to Jason, he is one of the highest paid action film stars of all time and if I was in his shoes, I wouldn't try to change what I do for a living either.

I don't want to spoil too much of the film but just trust me on this one. The movie is filled with laughs and an actually pretty decent story too.

8 / 10