Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, two fantastic actresses known for their comedy work, finally share a film together in The Spy Who Dumped Me.
Kunis stars as Audrey and McKinnon plays her best friend, Morgan. The film opens as we see Audrey’s ex-boyfriend, Drew (Justin Theroux), with whom she recently broke up, being attacked while by unknown assailants. Meanwhile, Audrey and Morgan celebrate Audrey’s birthday and decide to punish Drew for breaking up with Audrey over text by “burning his shit” (not literally, but many of his possessions).
The next day, two men confront Audrey at work and reveal that Drew is a CIA agent on a dangerous mission that, if it ends in failure, will result in hundreds of deaths. Back at home, Drew returns and tries to explain what’s going on when gunfire erupts. Drew is shot and gives Audrey a mission to go to Vienna and give a contact a trophy that contains something of high importance.
Audrey and Morgan travel to Vienna and other places in Europe to carry out Drew’s final mission, picking up an ally in Sebastian (Sam Heughan), an MI-6 agent who worked with Drew. The trio also catches the attention of the foreign group that will carry out the terrorist attacks, and they also earn the irk of Sebastian’s superior, Wendy (Gillian Anderson) and his colleague, Duffer (Hasan Minhaj).
Kunis and McKinnon make a fantastic duo. Kunis plays a somewhat (at first) hesitant woman who “never finishes anything” to even picking up a gun and shooting at some of the bad guys during the first major fight scene in Europe. McKinnon, as she frequently does, brings laughs and tears to the audience almost as soon as she appears, and keeps the laughs coming for the film’s entire running time.
Although Heughan’s character does have to come and rescue the leading ladies (as they are not trained agents like he is) a handful of times, his actions don’t take away from their role in solving the case, and he doesn’t come in like a knight in shining armor on a horse. Indeed, he is the only one of the trio who is severely injured to the point that he requires a cast for the film’s final act.
Another part of the film’s brilliance is its ability to hide the true intentions of many of the characters. It does it so well that you don’t know if anyone, including Sebastian, should be trusted as Audrey and Morgan work to solve the case.
For a film with lots of laughs, an interesting plot and a focus on two strong women, The Spy Who Dumped Me is definitely one to see.
The Spy Who Dumped Me is Rated R for violence, language throughout, some crude sexual material and graphic nudity
Leave a Reply