What to Watch This Weekend: June 26, 2020

Political Comedy: Irresistible (Home Rental)

Irresistible will make you laugh, cringe, and think a lot about our political system, in this hilarious dark comedy that sheds a satirical light on our political process.  For more information, check out our review!

Irreverent Relationship Comedy: aTypical Wednesday (Digital)
aTypical Wednesday is an irreverent, original, and fresh comedy that takes J. Lee on a journey of self discovery that will have you rooting for and learning from him while laughing out loud.  For more information, check out our review!

Hilarious Musical Comedy: Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (Netflix)

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is a classic return to form of the Will Ferrell buddy comedy, with great exaggerated characters, laugh out loud moments, and plenty of heart and talent underneath the ridiculous exterior.  For more information, check out our review!

For The Kids: Scoob! (HBO Max)
Scoob! is an entertaining animated reboot of the original television series.  It makes small updates but keeps much of what made the original show an enjoyable watch.  And it is now free to stream on HBO Max!

For The Older Kids: My Spy (Amazon Prime)
My Spy pits Bautista against his greatest challenge--a 9 year old girl--leading to some hilarious scenarios and heartwarming situations.  However, parents should be warned that this film has a little too much violence and language for young kids.  For more information, check out our review!

Anime: A Whisker Away (Netflix)
A Whisker Away is a beautifully animated Japanese film with strong characters, an interesting story, and plenty of raw emotion.  For more information, check out our review!

Anime: Okko's Inn (Netflix)
Okko's Inn is a beautiful, charming anime with bright, colorful animation, an interesting ensemble of characters, and good life lessons.  For more information, check out our review!

Serious Suspenseful Horror: The Lodge (Hulu)
The Lodge is a suspenseful masterpiece, whose visuals, sounds, and story will keep you on edge from start to finish.  For more information, check out our review!

Dark Comedy: Ready or Not (HBO)
Ready or Not tells a twisted tale with plenty of dark humor.  The setting is fantastic, the imagery feels authentic, and the performances give this deadly game a unique charm that will make you want to play again.  For more information, check out our review!

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