The Spy Who Dumped Me review: Queer lives, lots of laughs and a deadly mission

Charlotte O'Sullivan24 August 2018

Some people find Kate McKinnon a bit much. Not me. In this female buddy comedy-cum-spy thriller, the manic US comedian ploughs through adversity like Finding Nemo’s Dory. Morgan Freeman (ho-ho) is a genuinely unpredictable character. And she’s a joy.

It seems only fair to point out that Mila Kunis is also in the movie. In fact, she’s the heroine, Audrey, who gets dumped by her boyfriend (Justin Theroux), then discovers he’s a secret agent who needs her to complete a mission impossible in Europe.

Audrey feels a bit same-old, same-old, but Kunis does what she can and is chortle-worthy in two standout scenes. Director Susanna Fogel is heterosexual but jokes that friends call her “the lesbian whisperer”. Anyway, it’s pretty obvious which way Morgan swings. She gets the hots for Gillian Anderson’s stern MI6 boss. As the credits roll, we hear the words: “God is a woman and she’s queer.”

On the downside, many of the bloody action sequences strike an awkward note and Theroux is hardly an asset.

Nor is this film as consistent as Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids or Spy. Still, it gets so much right. A sequel, with Morgan in the driving seat, would be awesome.

The best LGBTQ+ films of all time

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