Parents' Guide to

Spy

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Action spoof is hilarious but raunchy and violent.

Movie R 2015 120 minutes
Spy Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 29 parent reviews

Clancam14
Clancam14 Adult
December 26, 2021
age 17+

Overall good film!

It’s a really good movie, it’s just a shame there is so much excessive and unnecessary swearing. I wouldn’t recommend letting children 16 and under watch this.

This title has:

Too much swearing
jack2211
jack2211 Adult
November 4, 2021
age 17+

Parents freaking out here clearly didn't look at rating

It's an R-rated movie -- it's not meant for families with young kids. You shouldn't be showing your tweens R-rated movies. This review says 17+ and clearly describes the swearing and raunchiness. That said, there's no actual sex or nudity (there's a ridiculous shot of a fake erect penis in a selfie), the swearing is nothing your kids haven't heard and it's a funny, fun, and smart parody of male-centric spy films.

This title has:

Great messages
See all 29 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is one of the CIA's finest agents. But you wouldn't know it: She's content to play backup to debonair Bradley Fine (Jude Law), who's out in the field while Susan watches via eyepiece and earpiece, always ready to warn him of incoming harm. But one day, Fine is caught in the middle of a mission, which results in the identity of other agents -- including loose cannon Rick Ford (Jason Statham) -- being compromised. Now the agency needs an unknown SPY -- like Susan -- to track Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), the daughter of an arms dealer, who might know what happened to Fine, as well as the location of an actual nuclear bomb. Can Susan hack it out in the field?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (29):
Kids say (55):

It's ridiculous how much fun this movie is, considering it isn't the first spy spoof we've seen. But fun it is -- finally, a film that truly showcases McCarthy's prodigious talents, and all without putting her in the usual position of being the brunt of jokes about her weight. Once she comes into her own, Susan Cooper is smart, sassy, strategic, resourceful, and strong. Yes, she's subjected to some disguises that tend toward "crazy cat lady" stereotypes, but she smashes those along with plenty of other ones. Bravo!

Kudos, too, to the rest of the cast, especially the (surprisingly) irreverent Statham, who's essentially making fun of every other "serious action hero" he's portrayed in movies before this. Law is James Bond with a sense of humor. And Byrne is beyond brilliant: She knows where the humorous beats are and always hits them just in time. Perhaps the only major complaint with Spy is that it does still rely a bit too often on jokes that presuppose McCarthy isn't conventionally attractive, an assumption that's pretty long in the tooth. Next time, perhaps, filmmakers will no longer need to point out how "different" she is from the typical Hollywood bombshell, and the "realization" that she's awesome won't be such a big reveal.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how the violence in Spy compares to what you might see in movies more focused on action than comedy. Does the movie's tone change the impact of the content? Does exposure to violent movies make kids more aggressive?

  • McCarthy is known for her physical comedy and, often, foul mouth; do you think this movie would have been the same without those elements? How does the fact that a woman is in the central role affect the impact of the raunchy content?

  • Why do you think Susan was seemingly content to play second fiddle to a male agent for so long? Does this seem surprising? Why? Why is it funny that her disguises make her seem sad and lonely? What stereotypes do those conventions play into? And how does the movie deal with them in the end?

Movie Details

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