Not only do I enjoy spy / espionage tales; I usually enjoy spoofs of them (the Johnny English movies notwithstanding).  For instance, I love the James Coburn Flint movies even more than the James Bond thrillers which inspired them.  But spy spoofs can go wrong even more dramatically than the spy films upon which they are based, and this maladjusted female buddy film is god-awful.  There is almost nothing of merit in this messy misfire.

Susanna Fogel’s film follows two women, Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon).  Aubrey breaks up by phone with Drew (Justin Theroux) because he is never there; Drew is actually a spy on location in Europe.  When he is killed, assassins go after Audrey, so naturally she and her BFF fly to Europe to find out why.  Misadventures follow, dozens of people die (but nobody cares about them so it’s okay) and somehow international peace depends on these two bumbling amateurs and the flash drive they secure.

Lots of stuff happens; there is torture, and shootouts, and a big circus scene, and fake accents — and none of it is funny.  One character dies and then reappears later without any rational explanation.  Other stuff happens with almost no connection to the story, such as it is, and we are supposed to care.  I didn’t.  The script is pathetic, with lots of swearing just for the sake of hearing these women swear, in any and every situation.  The film is never clever and it completely fails to build any empathy for these two rude Americans, who traipse across Europe stealing and swearing and leaving dead bodies wherever they go.

Maybe a good movie could have been fashioned from this premise, but I doubt it.  Even the title is outdated; it’s a response to The Spy Who Loved Me, which premiered in 1977, forty-one years ago!  Whoever green-lighted this project ought to be ashamed, as should these two actresses.  Drivel should not be acceptable from professionals such as these.  ☆.  19 December 2018.