Analysis of Spy: Action, Comedy, and Feminist Ideology in Film

This essay provides a comprehensive review of the 2015 action-comedy film 'Spy,' directed by Paul Feig. The analysis explores how 'Spy' reimagines the action film genre, incorporating elements of comedy and feminist ideology. The essay examines the film's action sequences, camera work, and its deviation from traditional action film tropes, highlighting its comedic aspects. Furthermore, it delves into the film's feminist perspective, focusing on the portrayal of the female protagonist, Susan Cooper, and her journey as a CIA agent. The essay discusses how the film challenges social stigmas and stereotypes related to women in espionage, emphasizing themes of female solidarity and empowerment. The essay also references reviews by critics such as Kermode, Scott, and Travers to support its arguments, ultimately concluding that 'Spy' is a unique action-comedy film with a strong feminist message, breaking away from Hollywood's traditional portrayal of action films and offering a more realistic and relatable representation of female characters.

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FILM REVIEW
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Spy is a 2015 released action-comedy spy film written and directed by famous Paul Feig.
There are plenty of popular faces casted in the film starting from the comedy queen Melissa
McCarthy, Jude Law and Jason Statham. The film was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards
with best motion pictures-music or comedy and the best actress in motion pictures. The acting of
all the characters are splendid and the direction Feig used the characters wisely so that both the
action and the comedy pulp were there simultaneously (Wloszczyna, 2015). The film is a bit
different from other maestros of Feig such as The Heat and Bridesmaids. For some of the film
critics it was a spoof of the 007 James Bond series and the differences were it was a comic action
film and the protagonist of the movie spy was a lady. This discussion tries to analyse Spy as an
action movie and the ideology of feminism that imbues into the film.
From the point of view of an action movie genre, it can be stated that the movie partially
reflects some action shots, sequences and the camera shorts. For instance, in the scene of chasing
the nuclear bomb, the use of camera is related to the hard-core action. The jerky and swift moves
of the camera is clearly considered to be a proper action shot. As per the review of Kermode
(2015) it can be stated that the film clearly projected some action pulp within the film. From
chasing the bad guys to running for life in the scene of Jude Law and then the drone attack, each
and every sequences are crafted with full details. International standard CGI was also used which
is part and parcel of almost all the action frames. From that point of view, the film definitely
provides enough pulp of an action movie.
However, the genre of the movie is somewhat different from other hard-core action films.
It is an action-comedy film so that apart from the core cinematic moments as an action film there
were some instances of comedy that makes a clear distinctiveness of the film Spy. In the scene
when one of villains was confronted by Jude Law and Bradley Fin or Jude Law pointed his gun

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towards the arms dealer, Boyanov. It was a serious scene with lots of thrill but all of a sudden,
Fin sneezed and pressed the trigger. Boyanov got killed (Robey, 2015). At that juncture, the
thriller turned into a perfect comic scene. Therefore, it can be argued that the film did not go with
the hard-core action thriller genre rather choose to project an action-comedy where all the pulps
of action and comedy had been projected vividly.
From the review of Scott (2015) it was presented that the film broke all the surreal and
glorified moments of Hollywood by depicting Melissa McCarthy as a person CIA analyst. Her
character named Susan prevails an anxious, awkward and eager to prove mentality that struggle
with her low self-esteem. The director created his best shot by choosing MS. McCarthy as the
protagonist of the film. Her flawless performance and over-enthusiastic mentality made it very
effective to create some comedy moments even within the thrill to chase the nuclear bomb. As an
undercover agent, Susan supposed to play the role of Midwestern Utah lived single mom and
suddenly she reinvented herself as an elegant espionage master. From flying planes to
conducting high speed chases thorough the European cities, all the elements to create an action
film was there but the director used his wits and intuitions to break the expectations of the
audience by injecting comedy in it (Travers, 2015). Therefore, the film simultaneously created an
action thrill and comedy that entertained the audience who used to watch action-comedy genre. It
was a action movie infused with comic pulps that made Spy something different than the other
action films. It was more of a spoof of 007 movies and shattered the traditional image of
Hollywood action films by using comedy.
From the feminist point of view, it can be stated that the film was a trademark feminist
touch of Paul Feig, the director. He started to create his own genre with a fully women-centric all
female lead cast in the movie Bridesmaids. The movie was a journey of friendship among

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females but gradually it turned into female rivalry. A more lucid and transparent projection was
made in the film Spy with the main character of MS. McCarthy. From different points of view,
the film reflected a feminist approach and the social stigma regarding it. McCarthy played the
role Susan Cooper who was an energetic and enthusiastic CIA officer. However, due to her lack
of self-esteem she became outcast to her colleagues. Nevertheless, she tried to prove her abilities
by choosing the field work. The film depicted the female voice of protest against the system and
the hollow in the system that made women out of espionage (Womensviewsonnews.org, 2015).
It was very derogatory and disturbing to think that way but the truth lies the same. Therefore, the
film sarcastically criticised the social tradition of disrespecting and questioning the ability of a
female to become CIA field officer. The scene where Jason Statham tried to show off his
abilities by questioning the skills of Susan of doing field work with pets was vividly connoted
the social perspective towards women. The sarcastic essence and the humour of the dialogues
clearly pointed out the discrimination between men and women though in a comic manner.
Garber (2015) described the character of Susan in a very glorified manner. The article
stated that the role of Susan was more of a fighter who lived her best life in CIA amidst of all the
problem that she faced on a regular basis. It is important to note that Susan was struggled with
accommodating to a fault which led to dissatisfaction and hopeless low life. Despite of all those
personal issues that gradually turned into professional problems Susan was very optimistic and
patient enough to handle crisis situation. In such circumstances she god the offer of field work
that is a dream of everyone working in clandestine services. In the path of her success, she got
challenges from her male colleagues like Jason Statham who tried to demoralise her enthusiasm
by questioning her abilities. Finally, she got the job and started her journey to find to find out the
nuclear bomb hidden somewhere in Europe. The transition from a desk worker to a field operator

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can be identified as an emancipation for Susan or McCarthy to leave all those bad memories and
continuous bullying and body shaming and initiated a new life with new personality.
Nevertheless, a strong urge to prove herself was still running back of her mind and her
dedication and passion for the job helped to achieve success. From that point of view, it can be
stated that the film clearly portrayed a feminist approach folded in comic relief and sarcasm
(Barber, 2015).
Based on the discussion, it can be argued that the film contained multi-layered facets that
makes Spy something distinctive from the other films in action-comedy genre. From the point of
view of an action movie genre, Spy followed some of the important styles of actions like fast
movement of camera and building up thrill. However, it was more of a comedy that some critics
had claimed as spoof of Bond movies. A feminist pulp is also there that made the film more
realistic and sensible. Therefore, it can be concluded that the movie Spy remarkably considered
as an action-comedy with some feminist content.

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Reference
Barber, N. (2015). Film review: Why Spy is better than Bond. Retrieved 2 April 2020, from
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150603-spy-better-than-bond
Garber, M. (2015). The 'Spy' Who Crushed It. Retrieved 2 April 2020, from
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/06/the-spy-who-crushed-it/
394976/
Kermode, M. (2015). Spy review – Melissa McCarthy’s show all the way. Retrieved 2 April
2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/07/spy-film-review-paul-feig-
melissa-mccarthy-mark-kermode
Robey, T. (2015). Spy review: 'Miss Moneypenny unleashed'. Retrieved 2 April 2020, from
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/spy/review/
Scott, A. (2015). Review: In ‘Spy,’ Melissa McCarthy Is a C.I.A. Drudge Who Goes Rogue.
Retrieved 2 April 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/05/movies/review-in-
spy-melissa-mccarthy-is-a-cia-drudge-who-goes-rogue.html
Travers, P. (2015). 'Spy' Movie Review. Retrieved 2 April 2020, from
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/spy-2-250335/
Wloszczyna, S. (2015). Spy movie review & film summary (2015) | Roger Ebert. Retrieved 2
April 2020, from https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spy-2015

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Womensviewsonnews.org. (2015). 'Spy' is a feminist triumph | Women's Views on News.
Retrieved 2 April 2020, from http://www.womensviewsonnews.org/2015/06/spy-is-a-
feminist-triumph/