With ample laughs and respectable action, Spy proves Melissa McCarthy's mettle as a headliner. It also positions writer-director Paul Fieg of Bridesmaids (2011) and The Heat (2013) among the best in the comedy business. As Susan, a highly skilled CIA field agent relegated to a desk job, McCarthy is equal parts sweet and unfiltered. While she respects authority, she'll beat or berate anyone challenging it, especially once she is unleashed on an international anti-terror mission.

Rose Byrne provides an ideal foil as a nefarious Eastern-European madwoman, constantly dressing down Susan's appearance, and in so doing, jabbing at how infrequently we see women who look like McCarthy in starring roles. Brits Jude Law and Jason Statham precisely spoof both ends of the spy movie spectrum, the former as a tuxedoed Bond type, the latter a Bourne-esque human weapon. There are at least four laugh-out-loud moments, including an early dinner scene between Susan and Law as her work crush that might be the funniest of the year.

The movie does slack a bit in the middle, at times showing its 120 minute length, only to be saved by R-rated insults and Susan's epic Roman Vespa chase. In a landscape startlingly devoid of well-made, mainstream comedies, Spy is another welcome offering from an actor/director pair in a creative groove.

Final Grade: B | 86/100 | ★★★