The Spy Who Loved, Shagged, and Dumped Me

What is it about spies and the women who love them?

With the release of the Mila Kunis/Kate McKinnon spy comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me, there’s now a third movie riffing on the same title.

Here are the three movies in question, what they were about, when they came out, and the really good songs that open them:

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

In a James Bond movie that kickstarted this meme, Roger Moore does his somewhat serious/somewhat campy best to take down a megalomaniac villain (is there any other kind in these films?) who threatens the world with nuclear weapons in an effort to start a brave new world under the sea.

This is Roger Moore’s third outing as the British superspy, and it’s a well-regarded film (the tenth in the Bond series). It was gorgeously filmed on location in Egypt and Italy. Notable for the first appearance of “Jaws” — a relentless seven foot henchman with metal teeth — a set piece where Bond skis off a cliff, and an underwater car, The Spy Who Loved Me is considered a classic Bond film. And so is the intro song Nobody Does It Better, by Carly Simon:

The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)

Mike Meyers, in his second Austin Powers spy spoof, offered the world a chance to misbehave in The Spy Who Shagged Me. Meyers is notable in this second film of the trilogy for showcasing his weirdness in three roles: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Dr. Evil: the villainous Goldfinger send up, and Fat Bastard: who is….fat. And not very nice.

This is my favorite film of the three; it’s the most fun and has the most cohesive plot, featuring Rob Lowe as the smary Number Two, Seth Green having a ball as the “Diet Coke of Evil” and space scenes that recall Bond’s 1979 Moonraker . Plus time travel. What’s not to love?

Here is the opening song and deliriously funny gag opening. Meyers is totally naked…watch the food product placement:

Just for fun, here’s another wacky song from the same film, with Meyers as Dr. Evil (and featuring Mini-Me):

The Spy Who Dumped Me (2018)

In yet another playful version of the genre, The Spy Who Dumped Me opens nationwide this week. The tagline is Minimum Experience. Maximum Damage.

Of the plot, the IMDB reports: “Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon), two thirty-year-old best friends in Los Angeles, are thrust unexpectedly into an international conspiracy when Audrey’s ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. Surprising even themselves, the duo jump into action, on the run throughout Europe from assassins and a suspicious-but-charming British agent, as they hatch a plan to save the world.”

The official trailer song, by Michael Buble, sounds VERY Bondian:

https://youtu.be/L8unUU5-r5s

The film looks goofy. It could be good goofy or bad goofy — we’ll see soon.  Campy and goofy is at least in the grand tradition of these movies. Kunis seems to be playing it straight, while McKinnon seems a bit unhinged.  So far it has a 55% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so it could go either way. Stay tuned for our review. In the meantime, here’s the trailer: