Steineded
How sad is this?
Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
gavin6942
Two bumbling government employees (Aykroyd and Chase) think they are American spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War."Spies Like Us" was met with mixed to negative reviews at the time of its 1985 release, though it has since been viewed more favorably and has developed something of a cult following in the years since. I cannot imagine this getting a negative review, though I understand why it might be mixed. This is obviously not the funniest comedy from either Aykroyd or Chase.I suppose the popularity has grown because there is something about 80s comedies that can't be replicated. Some would say a second-rate 80s comedy is better than many since then. Even if Aykroyd and Chase starred in something now (2016), it would come nowhere near the possibility it had then.
grantss
A bit hit-and-miss but works, mostly.Two low-level government employees, Emmitt Fitz-Hume (played by Chevy Chase) and Austin Milbarge (Dan Aykroyd), are chosen for a top- secret CIA mission. They are unsuitable as CIA agents but are deliberately chosen for this reason, as their mission is a decoy one and they are expendable. After being fast-tracked through training they are parachuted into Pakistan where all manner of adventures await them.Quite funny at times, but also very silly at times. Plot is pretty basic and some of the sub-plots are plain stupid. However, for the most part, it works. The main reason for this is Chevy Chase. He gets some great lines and delivers them perfectly. Dan Aykroyd is fine as the straight man but it is Chevy Chase that makes the movie watchable.Another positive is the pace of the movie. It is quite frenetic, so even if a scene is a dead end, it is over quickly and we move onto the next scene. The pace helps to cover up the blemishes.Not a must-see, but there are worse ways to spend 100 or so minutes.
ThatMOVIENut
A pair of knuckleheads get embroiled in international affairs as America's worst spies. Of course, their dispatch is deliberate, as they are being used as decoys for the real operation, shipped off to be nothing short of glorified target practice for the less than friendly groups over in the Middle East.Aggressively pedestrian, this mid 80s John Landis offering lacks spark, wit or even hard laughs. A shame as Chase and Aykroyd make for a decent team, and the plethora of cameos make for a cute novelty (including a quickie from one of my heroes, Terry Gilliam) for cineasts. It's even directed competently, with nicely varied locations and production values that feel like they belong in a proper spy film: secret bunkers, the arid lands of the Middle East and the snow drenched hills of Russia.However, all of this is null and void if the funnies just ain't coming, and despite Ackroyd having a writing credit, most of this film is other leaden wordplay or poorly timed slapstick that conceptually, should be funny (like a gag involving a jet, or another involving missiles) but somehow, it just doesn't click. Comedy is a really subjective thing, but given the film's lowly reputation, it's obvious I'm not alone here. And when it's not either of those, it's just a retread of old spy film tropes that have already been parodied 1001 times before and far better, and it does nothing new or amusing with them to make the revisit worthwhile.Honestly, beyond the cameos and the odd, rare chuckle, Spies Like Us is a rightfully forgotten title from Landis' extensive catalogue. It says something when I'm craving Beverly Hills Cop III over this.
Wuchak
As the title implies, "Spies Like Us" (1985) is a globe-trotting spy comedy with Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. There's a host of peripheral stars, like William Prince and the always excellent Bernie Casey, not to mention a cameo by none other than Bob Hope.This is a fun movie and it's great to see Chase and Aykroyd when they were so young, the latter with a quintessential 80's haircut. The best highlights are the awesome globe-spanning locations and the two female co-stars, Donna Dixon and Vanessa Angel, but not enough is done with 'em. The film's just not funny enough and it's hard to believe the producers went to such great expense, but failed to hire writers who knew how to do comedy. We're left with a fun, but throwaway flick; even Hope's cameo is a waste of celluloid. The film runs 102 minutes and was shot in Norway, Morocco, California and England. GRADE: C
