Spy (2015): The feminist action movie

Spy is an amazing movie. And it is pro-feminist too, passing the Bechdel Test with an A+! The movie stars Melissa McCarthy, who was last seen in Tammy (2014) as a crude, fat and ugly woman. Spy's Susan Cooper however, is portrayed as an intelligent and extraordinarily capable CIA agent, even outshining Jude Law's James Bond-esque character. Jason Statham's character, former CIA agent Rick Ford, is the bumbling, over-the-top comic foil, symbolizing the follies of the male ego. Spy is like a good Marvel movie, full of action, laughs and an acceptable or good plot. It doesn't shy away from violence, choosing instead to showcase violence in all it's bloody and gory splendor. Yet, the violence is always juxtapose with humor. One thing that made me slightly uncomfortable is how capable and skilled Susan is. She probably isn't any more capable and skilled than James Bond in the pre-Daniel Craig era, but yet, it felt a little uncomfortable to see female action star who does not look like a hot, sexy femme fatale. Which means one thing: I have been conditioned by Hollywood to be comfortable with specific stereotypes in movies. In fact, a lot of laughs come from Susan's constant struggles with her colleagues' stereotypical views of her. I am glad Spy got produced, because it shows that anyone, even the most unlikely of actors, can be stars of action movies. It is a direction Hollywood has not explored to the fullest. Spy simply proves that the normal stereotypical roles we watch in Hollywood can be reversed or subverted, and by doing so, bring novelty to otherwise overused tropes. We need more of such movies!