'Spy': Why Melissa McCarthy's action comedy stands out
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Melissa McCarthy鈥檚 comedy 鈥淪py鈥� opens Friday, the newest film led by the actress following 鈥淭ammy,鈥� 鈥淭he Heat,鈥� and 鈥淏ridesmaids.鈥澛�
鈥淪py鈥� stars McCarthy as Susan Cooper, a CIA office worker who must enter the field when the identities of other agents are learned by their enemies. It co-stars Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Jude Law, and Allison Janney.
A comedy led by a female actress like 鈥淪py鈥� is rare enough, but 鈥淪py鈥� is also unusual because it鈥檚 a comedy led by a female actress that鈥檚 not a romantic comedy. Movies like 1999鈥檚 鈥淣otting Hill,鈥� the 2002 movie 鈥淢y Big Fat Greek Wedding,鈥� and 鈥淭he Proposal鈥� have done well at the box office, but they鈥檝e all followed the familiar rom-com formula.聽
Many of the recent exceptions have co-starred McCarthy herself. The 2011 comedy 鈥淏ridesmaids鈥� became a box office smash and coined the phrase 鈥淭he 鈥楤ridesmaids鈥� effect鈥� to describe how more female-led comedies have been produced. 鈥淥n May 16, the Monday morning after聽鈥楤ridesmaids鈥櫬爋pened to an unexpected $26.2 million, with an audience that was 67 percent female, you could hear the edict bellowed at studio staff meetings everywhere: 鈥榃here's our聽Bridesmaids?!,鈥欌�� writer David T. Friendly wrote. 鈥淏ridesmaids鈥� had a romantic side plot involving protagonist Annie (Kristen Wiig) falling in love with a police officer, but the main focus of the movie was Annie鈥檚 friendship with bride-to-be Lillian (Maya Rudolph). McCarthy co-starred as another bridesmaid. Another comedy that wasn鈥檛 centered on romantic intrigue was the 2013 movie 鈥淭he Heat,鈥� which starred McCarthy and Sandra Bullock as loose cannon and by-the-book police officers, respectively. The film also triumphed at the box office, becoming the fifteenth-highest-grossing movie of the year, according to the website .
Another hopeful sign? McCarthy鈥檚 starring in a new 鈥淕hostbusters鈥� story with actresses Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon. There may be romantic plotlines involving one or all of the stars, but presumably, their main objective will be taking care of those pesky ghosts.
