I Spy something funny

Spy movies = flashy cars, cool gadgets, overused plot lines, some level of intrigue. I Spy adds something new to the equation along with all of the old: humor. Oh, it's clichéd and unsurprising… but deliberately, humorously so. The film makes no pretenses and never seriously attempts to cover up its basic purpose: to serve as a vaguely interesting setting for Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson's coordinated comical genius.

Discard the throwaway plot and supporting cast and the movie still, somewhat magically, works. Maybe it's Murphy's camera cheese or Wilson's bemused, squinting look that propels this bumbling story to comic success. Either way, I Spy detects something right.

Plot? Unimportant, and hardly innovative. Wilson plays special agent Alex Scott, who bungles a simple espionage mission, setting the stage for his semi-punitive new assignment: the retrieval of a special invisible plane entitled Switchblade, stolen by international arms dealer Arnold Gundars (Malcolm McDowell). Eager to prove himself to the organization and in particular one rather attractive co-worker, Rachel (Famkee Janssen), Alex takes on the mission with gumption.

Unfortunately, Alex is paired with a civilian, middleweight world champion Kelly Robinson (Murphy), an arrogant, overweening boxer who treats Alex as his lackey. The scenario is that Gundars is using a pre-boxing championship party as the screen for international crooks to bid on his plane, and Kelly and Alex will attend as guests. Of course, everything goes wrong, and the logical conclusion is that Kelly and Alex find themselves trading childhood stories in a sewer. Uh, right.

The sewer scene is just one example of the ridiculous plot twists existing solely as poorly set stages for Wilson and Murphy's dynamic chemistry. It's admittedly funny to watch Kelly feed classic white guy Alex smooth lines for seducing Rachel, yet leaves the film somewhat lacking in the area of meaning.

But it's not trying to be evocative or have a greater worldly message. In fact, I Spy doesn't take itself too seriously at all. And that is essentially the secret to its success: it leaves viewers feeling good and entertained, perhaps a bit more light-hearted. Murphy and Wilson appear to sincerely like each other, a factor which only serves to augment the film's warmth and authenticity.

Choppy, inane, and poorly directed, I Spy still makes the cut as a cleverly acted comedy with truly stellar stars.