.png)
(Release Info London schedule; August 6th, 2018, Landmark)
"The Spy Who Dumped Me"
"The Spy Who Dumped Me" tells the story of Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon), two best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.
Audrey and Morgan, two thirty-year-old best friends in Los Angeles, are thrust unexpectedly into an international conspiracy when Audrey’s ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. Surprising even themselves, the duo jump into action, on the run throughout Europe from assassins and a suspicious-but-charming British agent, as they hatch a plan to save the world. They embark on an action-packed international adventure after they discover that Drew (Justin Theroux), who recently dumped Audrey via text, is actually a spy. Armed only with their wits, Audrey and Morgan race through several European capitals, hunted by a host of top-secret operatives who want to help them or kill them, or both. These include taciturn British agent Sebastian Henshaw (Sam Heughan), pretentious jerk Topher Duffer (Hasan Minhaj), calculating spy boss Wendy (Gillian Anderson), and cold- blooded teenage assassin Nadedja (Ivanna Sakhno). As they learn to navigate the high-octane world of gun battles, car chases and daring escapes, the two best buds quickly learn that they can trust no one, except each other.
Audrey and Morgan are the best of friends, and stronger than they know. Audrey is a person who thinks a lot, she’s very clever and smart, but she’s also her own worst enemy because she thinks enough to doubt herself, and if she doesn’t think something’s going to go well, she’ll play it safe. Morgan is pure heart, emotion, impulsiveness, she’s always putting herself out there, she’s a born performer, she’s been to every acting camp, singing camp, acrobatics camp, she’s that person. It's the character's differences that make them a great team. They've complementary skill sets. Morgan’s always saying; we can do it, we got this; she’s really confident. Audrey’s the one who’s thinking five steps ahead. They end up having both the skills necessary to get them through by the skin of their teeth. It’s Audrey’s craftiness and Morgan’s complete fearlessness that leads to a lot of the comedy and makes them a good match as friends. They bring out the best in each other. Like many best friends, Audrey and Morgan have shared goals, but very different personalities. Audrey is very gun-shy, and doesn’t lie well, is nervous in life, is self-conscious at all times, and plays life very safe. Morgan is her counterpart who's a struggling actress, who views life as one giant audition, and is constantly doing voices and characters, takes risks and chances, and goes balls out. The two of them kind of collide and go on this adventure together.
"The Spy Who Dumped Me" is built as a genre-bender, two women at the center of an action-packed spy caper. This is Bridesmaids meets Bond. Central to "The Spy Who Dumped Me" is the deep and true friendship between the two main characters, Audrey and Morgan. We've all these movies about male friends, and we don’t have as many movies about female friends. We've women in romantic comedies, but we don’t really see women with their friends and how ridiculous and relatable those relationships can be, and yet for many women that's the most important relationship in their life. Everyone has a best friend, and everyone loves and hates their best friend at different times in their life. As the story unspools, the two average girls start to build confidence, an important narrative arc.
Two types of movies we like to see are movies that show people being funny, relatable and self-deprecating as they go through their very mundane problems, and then movies where you get the total transporting yourself to another world fulfillment. The idea is about two people who do not belong in an action movie. But they've to survive when they find themselves in this really, really aggressive testosterone-y Bourne Identity kind of world. The story is about discovering yourself, testing yourself and exceeding what other people’s expectations might be. The way female friendship is presented in the film is natural, smart, inspiring and exciting. It’s part road trip, part best-friend movie, part travel log, part spy movie, as the characters discover their inner bad-ass with their best friend.
Sometimes some of the moments in a movie that feel the most authentic and the most improvised feel that way because they're the most authentic and the most improvised. The movie combines what draws people to see an action movie and what draws people to see a female friendship movie. And the wish fulfillment of just leaving your comfort zone and going into a crazy vacation with your best friend. You know, neck cracking and ball-kicking and snapping and shooting. That's always fun! It's a female driven action comedy that dispatches with the guys. You’re going to be smiling, laughing your ass off, and then you might shed a tear at one point. But it will be a good tear.
Nice.