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At-A-Glance Film Reviews

Spy Hard (1996)

Rating

[1.5]

Reviews and Comments

If you like Leslie Nielsen's brand of all-out lunatic comedy, a viewing of Spy Hard, a parody of James Bond and other spy flicks, may not be a bad idea. While a great many gags fall flat, there's still several that induce a couple of laughs -- but only a very few (such as Weird Al's theme song, a poke at True Lies, and a casual "this time it's personal" comment) will remain funny in retrospect. Story sounds like an odd thing to complain about in a movie such as this, but it was the unseen element that helped the classics of the genre, like Airplane!, work so well -- an hour and a half of loony gags, however funny, isn't going to work, and a well done plot that pokes fun at serious formulas is actually more important than the gags. Spy Hard's story might as well not be there. Following it is distracting; not following it is irritating. Of course, it doesn't help that the hysteria of Airplane!'s humor is altogether absent here. Spy Hard is a reasonably diverting 81 minutes, but you'll gain no enjoyment through fond memories.

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