Pretty dry for a fly Spy

Spy (M)
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Jude Law, Jason Statham
THE dearth of comedies at the moment has people just a little excited about this one – but really, it’s nothing to write home about.
Certainly, the kind of performance star Melissa McCarthy brought to The Heat with Sandra Bullock is absent.
McCarthy slips into her usual overweight loser wannabe role – this time, she’s an office-bound CIA operative who desperately wants to get among it out in the field.
And there, the story both begins and ends.
She’s the brains behind Jude Law’s field operative, a hapless Bond parody.
Some fun is added via Jason Statham, who mercilessly sends up the hard man image he’s spent so many years and feet of celluloid cultivating.
Rose Byrne is the evil arch-enemy – and that’s about all that can be said about her.
You’ll have forgotten this film five minutes after leaving the cinema.
Where this supposed jaunt largely falls flat is in two areas.
Firstly, McCarthy basically dials it in – there’s none of the spark she can bring to a role when she tries.
And even more importantly, there’s no-one for her to bounce off – she needs that straight ‘man’, just like a Sandra Bullock, to bounce off and emphasise her own wackiness.
Be warned, Melissa. Pull your finger out now, before your performances in Bridesmaids and The Heat become the sad, maudlin memories of someone who could have been great, once.
– Jason Beck