My Spy (2020)

There are a lot of deep, meaningful movies out there.  You have Life of Pi.  Limitless and The Adjustment Bureau come to mind.  You might even include Inception on the list.  These are movies that give you something new to think about.  They may not be perfect, but they’re intended for an audience who doesn’t mind a complicated plot.

Then, you have Hallmark movies.  They tend to follow a similar plot.  Someone has to go back to a small town where they meet someone and fall in love.  They eventually realize what’s important.  They hit all the marks and you can generally predict what’s going to happen.

My Spy tends towards the Hallmark movies.  I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised by this movie.  In fact, I hesitate to include a trailer because that would give away a lot of the plot.

Take JJ.  He’s a former member of Special Forces.  He’s really good with explosives.  He’s not so good with other people.  When he goes to work for the CIA, he botches his first mission.  Yes, he stopped some bad guys, but the idea was to use those bad guys to catch the even worse guys they were working for.

He’s given one more mission to redeem himself.  He’s partnered with Bobbi, a tech expert, and sent to Chicago to watch Kate and her daughter, Sophie.  Kate’s husband, Victor, was killed by his brother, David.  The hope is that David will contact Kate, who doesn’t realize that she has some important files.

So, JJ and Bobbi set up some cameras in Kate’s apartment.  And it doesn’t take long for Sophie to figure out where they are.  Once she has a camera, she’s able to triangulate where JJ and Bobbi are.  Armed with only her cell phone, she’s able to blackmail JJ into being her friend.

If you’ve ever seen a Hallmark movie, you know that JJ has a lot of learning to do.  He gets good enough that he can survive a few dates with Kate, who is still clueless about who JJ really is.  Kate does eventually figure it out and isn’t too happy about the lie.  Sophie makes friends at her new school because of her association with JJ.  When JJ’s boss discovers what’s going on, JJ and Bobbi are fired.  In the end, everyone is where they want to be.

I have to wonder what actual CIA agents would think of this movie.  First, I don’t think the CIA generally operates on America soil.  Something like this would probably be handled by the FBI.  Honestly, there’s no reason why it couldn’t have been the FBI.  It would have been just as easy to have the opening scene take place somewhere like Detroit.  It wouldn’t even have to be nuclear weapons.

Then, there’s the issue of JJ and Bobbi setting up in the same building as Kate and Sophie.  The same building?  Really?  I think they were on the same floor, even.  Wouldn’t that increase the odds of Kate or Sophie getting to know them?  I get that they would have to be close for the Wi-Fi cameras to work, but there has to be a way around that.  Like, hook it up to a phone line or something.  There has to be an industrial-grade transmitter that they could buy.

I also have to say that Dave Bautista is the weakest link, acting-wise.  He looks the part, but he doesn’t really own the part.  He doesn’t make you think he’s the only one that could play the role of JJ.  It’s a shame because I’ve liked him in other roles.  Chloe Coleman, for instance, plays Sophie to the point that I honestly believe Sophie would make a better CIA agent than JJ.

When I first heard of this movie, I figured it would be a lot like Léon: The Professional, and I wasn’t wrong.  It was more like Léon meets Kindergarten Cop.  It’s one of those overly generic feel-good movies that has a few mild laughs, some gratuitous explosions and a happy-enough ending that no one will really dislike it.  It’s not great, but there are worse movies you could be forced to sit through.

IMDb page