Grade:  B+

Director:  Betty Thomas		Released:  November 2002
Writer:  Marianne & Cormac Wibberley		MPAA Rating:  PG-13
Players:  Owen Wilson, Eddie Murphy, Famke Janssen, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Cole		Running time:  97 minutes

Ratings System

I Spy is a cute comedy, not a guffaw comedy.  Owen Wilson is a lovable doofus spy and Eddie Murphy a cocksure boxer enlisted to help Wilson on an undercover mission.  Hilarity ensues.  Actually, it is pretty funny.

The problem with these buddy comedies lately is that they are too sterile.  There's nothing raw or gritty about them.  They have great hollywood lighting, nice costumes, perfect hair.  Even when the characters are in a sewer, it doesn't get grimy.

To me, the funnier parts relate to the low-quality spy equipment issued to Wilson, and the contrast of that to the super-spy "Carlos".  Carlos is an original comic creation, I enjoyed him.

Eddie Murphy performs his usual routine, and it's still funny, so I'm not complaining.  I tend to like Owen Wilson in roles where he is more smarmy, like Meet the Parents, but he's good in this aw-shucks type role too.

- crocoPuffs