Review: My Spy

Release date: June 26, 2020 (Amazon Prime)
Running time: 102 minutes
Starring: Dave Bautista, Kristen Schaal, Parisa Fitz-Henley, Chloe Coleman

Super Soldier JJ (Bautista) was an amazing military man, but is having trouble adjusting to his new covert role as a spy.  After one too many missions end in too many dead bad guys, JJ and his partner Bobbi (Schaal) are given one final chance: monitoring the family of a known criminal.  However, after the family's 9 year old daughter Sophie (Coleman) discovers that a spy is monitoring them, she uses that info to force JJ to spend time with her and teach her the tricks of his trade.

My Spy's main draw is Dave Bautista.  Similar to the Rock and John Cena, Bautista has attempted to bridge the gap between wrestling and acting with much success.  He is amazing in the Marvel universe and he was surprisingly entertaining in Stuber.  Also similar to the Rock and Cena in their children-focused movies, My Spy pits the strong man against a small child to see who will prevail.  This leads to many ridiculous situations, funny lines, and heartwarming moments as the mountain of muscles is forced to ice skate, get ice cream, and go to Sophie's "Parents and Special Friends" event at school.  It is really funny to see Bautista in these situations; he has a good sense of humor and really funny comedic chops.  The humor is helped along by the great acting of Chloe Coleman, who plays the 9 year old.  Her confidence and delivery are perfect and she is a great contrast to the serious Bautista.  The two make a great pair and really are the heart of the movie. 

For those wondering, though, this is definitely NOT a kids movie.  There is some amount of violence, language, and questionable content.  However, My Spy occupies a strange middle ground.  It is not raunchy enough to be considered edgy like Good Boys.  But it is too violent and has too much language to be considered kid-friendly.  In some ways that holds the film back.  It doesn't have the wide appeal of a kids movie but it also doesn't have the utterly shocking situations that made Good Boys so enjoyable.  It is essentially a teen movie in the dressing of a kids film.  

My Spy pits Bautista against his greatest challenge--a 9 year old girl--leading to some hilarious scenarios and heartwarming situations.  

Rent It