Who is the villain in The Spy Who Dumped Me?

The Spy Who Dumped Me
Who is the villain in The Spy Who Dumped Me?

Theatrical release poster

Directed bySusanna Fogel
Written by

  • Susanna Fogel
  • David Iserson

Produced by

  • Brian Grazer
  • Erica Huggins

Starring

  • Mila Kunis
  • Kate McKinnon
  • Justin Theroux
  • Sam Heughan
  • Gillian Anderson

CinematographyBarry Peterson
Edited byJonathan Schwartz
Music byTyler Bates

Production
companies

  • Imagine Entertainment
  • Lionsgate
  • Bron Studios

Distributed byLionsgate

Release date

  • August 3, 2018 (United States)

Running time

117 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[2]
Box office$75.3 million[2]

The Spy Who Dumped Me is a 2018 American action spy spoof comedy film directed by Susanna Fogel and co-written by Fogel and David Iserson. The film stars Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Justin Theroux, Sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, and Gillian Anderson and follows two best friends who are chased by assassins through Europe after one of their ex-boyfriends turns out to be a CIA agent. The film was released in the United States on August 3, 2018, by Lionsgate and grossed more than $75 million, while receiving mixed reviews from critics, who questioned the film's intended genre and tone but praised the performances.

Plot[edit]

In Los Angeles, cashier Audrey Stockman spends her birthday upset after being dumped, via text, by her boyfriend Drew. Her best friend and roommate, Morgan, convinces her to burn Drew's things and sends him a text as a heads up. Unbeknownst to Audrey, Drew is a government agent being pursued by men trying to kill him. He promises to return and asks Audrey not to burn his things in the meantime.

At her job, Audrey flirts with a man who asks her to walk him to his car. She is forced into a van. Inside, the man identifies himself as Sebastian Henshaw and that Drew works for the C.I.A. and has gone missing. Audrey claims not to have heard from Drew and is allowed to go home. Drew shows up to retrieve his possessions, including a fantasy football trophy. People begin shooting at them and Drew tells Audrey that, if anything happens to him, she must go to a certain café in Vienna and turn over the trophy to his contact. Drew is then apparently murdered by a man Morgan had previously met at the bar, who is then pushed off the balcony by Morgan.

Morgan convinces Audrey to go to Vienna. At the café, Sebastian appears and demands the trophy at gunpoint. Audrey reluctantly hands it over before the entire café is attacked. Audrey and Morgan flee, chased by men on motorcycles. Audrey reveals that she still has Drew's trophy since she switched it with one of several decoys they purchased. They board a train to Prague and discover that the trophy contains a USB flash drive. Morgan calls her parents, who tell her they can stay in Prague with Roger, a family friend.

Audrey and Morgan make it to the apartment, but quickly realize that "Roger" is actually a spy who has killed the real Roger and drugged the two ladies. Audrey tries to get Morgan to swallow the flash drive. When that fails, Audrey tells their captors that she flushed it down the toilet.

The ladies wake up in an abandoned gymnastics training facility, about to be tortured by Nadejda, a Russian gymnast/model/assassin trained by an older couple who had previously masqueraded as Drew's parents. Audrey and Morgan are rescued by Sebastian, who defied orders to save them. He brings them to meet his boss in Paris, where they once again tell the C.I.A. and MI6 that the drive was flushed. The women are given tickets back to America, and Sebastian is placed on leave.

Driving back to the airport, Sebastian explains that Drew's "parents" are actually notorious criminals; Drew was discreetly negotiating with them to sell the flash drive, and Audrey came along as part of his cover. Audrey confesses that she hid the drive in her vagina. When Sebastian is unable to decrypt the information, Morgan calls Edward Snowden - who had a crush on her in summer camp - and he helps them hack the drive.

The trio travel to a hostel in Amsterdam, where they are attacked by Sebastian's C.I.A. partner Duffer, who wants to sell the drive himself. They are rescued by their hostel roommate, who thinks they are being robbed and body slams Duffer to his death. Audrey answers Duffer's phone when it rings and agrees to sell the drive at a private party in Berlin. To get into the party, Audrey and Sebastian disguise themselves as the Canadian ambassador and his wife, while Morgan pretends to be a member of Cirque du Soleil, the entertainment. Sebastian is attacked and Morgan is confronted by Nadejda on an acrobat swing, eventually killing her by throwing her onto the nearby set. Meanwhile, Audrey goes to meet her mysterious contact and finds Drew, still alive. Drew acts suspiciously and goes through her purse to find the flash drive. Sebastian arrives, being held hostage by Drew's "parents". After a standoff, Drew's "parents" are shot, leaving Sebastian and Drew, who accuse each other of trying to hurt Audrey. Drew then shoots Sebastian, and Audrey pretends to be glad before grabbing Drew's gun. After Drew tries to attack Audrey, Audrey kicks him in the crotch, then he falls to the ground when Morgan throws a cannonball at him. Drew is arrested, and Audrey, Morgan, and Sebastian walk away.

Sebastian later gives Morgan his untraceable phone so she can call her parents to tell them she is alive. While on the phone, Morgan receives a call from Sebastian's boss telling him he is off suspension. Morgan begs her for a job as a spy. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Audrey share a kiss.

A year later, while celebrating Audrey's birthday in Tokyo, her party is revealed to be ruse. Audrey and Morgan are there on assignment with Sebastian to stop a group of Japanese Yakuza gangsters.

Cast[edit]

  • Mila Kunis as Audrey Stockman
  • Kate McKinnon as Morgan Freeman
  • Sam Heughan as Sebastian Henshaw
  • Justin Theroux as Drew Thayer
  • Gillian Anderson as Wendy
  • Hasan Minhaj as Duffer
  • Ivanna Sakhno as Nadejda
  • Fred Melamed as Roger
  • Jane Curtin as Carol Freeman
  • Paul Reiser as Arnie Freeman
  • Lolly Adefope as Tess Baker-Tonetti
  • Kev Adams as Bitteauto Driver Lukas
  • Olafur Darri Olafsson as Finnish Backpacker
  • Tom Stourton as Edward Snowden
  • James Fleet as Tom
  • Carolyn Pickles as Marsha
  • Mirjam Novak as Verne

Production[edit]

Principal photography began in Budapest, Hungary in July 2017.[3] Filming also took place in Amsterdam that September, wrapping the same month.[4]

Release[edit]

The Spy Who Dumped Me premiered at Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on July 25, 2018.[5] The film was originally scheduled to be released on July 6, 2018, but after "a phenomenal test screening" it was pushed back a month to August 3, 2018, in order to avoid a crowded July frame.[6][7]

Home media[edit]

The Spy Who Dumped Me was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 30, 2018, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.[8]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

The Spy Who Dumped Me grossed $33.6 million in the United States and Canada, as well as $41.7 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $75.3 million, against a production budget of $40 million.[2]

In the United States and Canada, The Spy Who Dumped Me was released alongside Christopher Robin, The Darkest Minds and Death of a Nation: Can We Save America a Second Time?, and was projected to gross $10–15 million from 3,111 theaters in its opening weekend.[9] The film made $5 million on its first day, including $950,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $12.4 million, finishing third at the box office, behind holdover Mission: Impossible – Fallout and Christopher Robin.[10] It fell 45% to $6.6 million in its second weekend, finishing sixth.[11]

Critical response[edit]

At the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 49% based on 208 reviews, with an average rating of 5.30/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Spy Who Dumped Me isn't the funniest or most inventive spy comedy, but Kate McKinnon remains as compulsively watchable as ever".[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 3 out of 5 stars.[10]

Variety's Owen Gleiberman praised McKinnon's performance but criticized the film for favoring violence over comedy, writing, "The Spy Who Dumped Me is no debacle, but it's an over-the-top and weirdly combustible entertainment, a movie that can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a light comedy caper or a top-heavy exercise in B-movie mega-violence."[14] Barbara VanDenburgh of The Arizona Republic called the film "a tonally incongruous, plodding and graphically violent comedy" and gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying: "Perhaps the problem isn't one of too little ambition, but of too much. The Spy Who Dumped Me is, after all, trying earnestly to be about half a dozen different things: a buddy comedy, a spy drama, a raunch fest, a thrilling action film. It's just that it doesn't have the focus to do any of those things particularly well".[15] Rolling Stone's Peter Travers criticized the film, rating it 2 out of 5 stars. He stated that the film "spends way too much time on car chases, shootouts, knife fights and R-rated violence that doesn't square with the film's comic agenda" and also commented that "The Spy Who Dumped Me isn't just painfully unfunny—it criminally wastes the comic talents of Kate McKinnon".[16]

Richard Brody of The New Yorker praised the film, stating, "Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon riff gleefully in the ample and precise framework of Susanna Fogel's effervescent action comedy",[17] while Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times also gave it a positive review, writing, "The Spy Who Dumped Me [is] a fast, funny Europe-trotting buddy caper".[18] Johnny Oleksinski of The New York Post opined it was nice to see McKinnon used properly in a film, and that Kunis was the ideal straight woman, calling the two a smart match.[19]

Accolades[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Spy Who Dumped Me". AMC Theatres. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "The Spy Who Dumped Me". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Shanahan, Mark (July 17, 2017). "New Novel and Big Movie Keep Susanna Fogel Busy". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  4. ^ Daniels, Nia (June 2, 2017). "Multiple European locations for The Spy Who Dumped Me". KFTV. Media Business Insight. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
  5. ^ McNary, Dave (July 26, 2018). "Kate McKinnon, Mila Kunis Consider Being Secret Agents at 'Spy Who Dumped Me' Premiere". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  6. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (April 28, 2017). "Lionsgate Dates Mila Kunis-Kate McKinnon Comedy 'The Spy Who Dumped Me' for Summer 2018 Release". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 22, 2017). "'The Spy Who Dumped Me' Heads To August, 'Madea Family Funeral' To Be Held In Fall". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  8. ^ Bradley, Dan (September 10, 2018). "'The Spy Who Dumped Me' 4K, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Release Dates and Details". The HDRoom. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  9. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (August 1, 2018). "Box Office: Can Disney's 'Christopher Robin' Top 'Mission: Impossible – Fallout'?". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  10. ^ a b D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 5, 2018). "'Mission' Notches Best 2nd Weekend For Franchise With $35M; 'Christopher Robin' No Eeyore With $25M – Sunday Box Office". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (August 12, 2018). "August Audiences Get Hooked On 'Meg' Shelling Out $44.5M". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  12. ^ "The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  13. ^ "The Spy Who Dumped Me Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (July 26, 2018). "Film Review: 'The Spy Who Dumped Me'". Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  15. ^ VanDenburgh, Barbara (July 27, 2018). "'The Spy Who Dumped Me' review: Graphic violence, comedy don't mix". The Arizona Republic. Gannett Company. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  16. ^ Travers, Peter (July 30, 2018). "'The Spy Who Dumped Me' Review: D.O.A. Comedy Does Kate McKinnon No Favors". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  17. ^ Brody, Richard (August 3, 2018). "The Spy Who Dumped Me". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  18. ^ Chang, Justin (August 3, 2018). "The Spy Who Dumped Me". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  19. ^ Oleksinski, Johnny (August 1, 2018). "'The Spy Who Dumped Me' is a secret-agent spoof that doesn't suck". The New York Post. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  20. ^ "People's Choice Awards 2018". People's Choice Awards. Retrieved September 26, 2018.

  • Official website
  • The Spy Who Dumped Me at IMDb

Who is the good guy in The Spy Who Dumped Me?

The film does a complete 360 with these male leads, causing audiences to now accept Drew as the bad guy and Sebastian as the good one. If Sebastian is supposedly the good guy, it doesn't entirely add up why he mistreated Audrey and Morgan before they all teamed up.

Who does Audrey end up with in The Spy Who Dumped Me?

The movie makes good use of the conceit of two everywomen—Mila Kunis' Audrey and Kate McKinnon's Morgan—pulled into the world of international espionage. Those of you who have seen the movie now that it ends with an epilogue featuring Audrey and Morgan in Japan a year following their stint in Europe.

What is the plot of The Spy Who Dumped Me?

Best friends Audrey and Morgan are going about their humdrum lives in Los Angeles -- until Audrey's ex-boyfriend suddenly shows up with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. Unexpectedly thrust into an international conspiracy, the gals soon find themselves dodging killers and a suspicious British agent while hatching a plan to save the world.The Spy Who Dumped Me / Film synopsisnull

Is there a The Spy Who Dumped Me 2?

This means a lot to me! The Spy Who Dumped Me 2:The Spy From Outer Space is the action comedy adventure epic space-opera science-fiction sequel to the 2018 movie The Spy Who Dumped Me.