Themes: Nothing Goes Right, Fired or Laid-Off, Conspiracies
Main Cast: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Zouzou, Joss Ackland, Shane Rimmer
Release Year: 1974
Country: UK
Run Time: 87 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In 1974, flanked by such filmic monuments to paranoia and corruption as Chinatown and The Parallax View, Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland tried to re-create the screwball nonchalance of their earlier M*A*S*H performances in this lightweight spy spoof, directed by Irvin Kershner. Gould and Sutherland play two CIA agents -- Griff and Bruland -- who are marked for death by their own agency after botching the defection of a Russian ballet dancer (Michael Petrovich). As they repeatedly mess up their assignments and wriggle out of tight corners, they not only find themselves pursued by the CIA, but also by the KGB, the Chinese Communists, and a terrorist group that wants to destroy the CIA. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Review
S*P*Y*S is a dull, dull, dull mess of a movie. Intended as a spoof of serious spy movies, and filmed at a time of social cynicism and in which cinematic comedy tended to be a bit "looser," S*P*Y*S wanted to be a hip, more knowing version of Get Smart. Unfortunately, it turns out to be merely a waste of time and talent. The biggest culprit, of course, is the screenplay, which is convoluted, unfocused, and -- most damagingly -- unfunny. The jokes are lame, the set-ups amateurish, the pay-offs practically non-existent. After the first fifteen or twenty minutes, most viewers will be glancing at their watches and wondering when it will ever end. Things are not helped by Irvin Kershner's non-direction, about as poor a job of trying to capture comedy onscreen as one can imagine. Kershner ruins the few decent attempts at situational humor in the film, noticeably in the restaurant scene when he doesn't put enough focus on Donald Sutherland's reaction to some nerve gas -- which should be the reason the scene exists. Sutherland and Elliott Gould come off poorly, despite their talent and chemistry. The material is simply too bad, and neither actor has the kind of star persona that can overcome this challenge. Those asterisks in the title are, of course, meant to evoke memories of the stars' earlier M*A*S*H -- but viewers are advised to skip this one and go with the Altman classic instead. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Vladek Sheybal - Borisenko; Michael Anthony - Priest; John Bardon - Evans; Yuri Borienko - Yuri; Robert Cawdron - Vet; Raf dela Torre - King of Swobodia; Kenneth Griffith - Lippet; Nigel Hawthorne - Croft; Andy Ho - Toy Ling; Jacques Marin - Lafayette; Pierre Oudrey - Gaspar; Hella Petri - Prostitute; Michael Petrovich - Sevitsky; George Pravda - Coach; Larry Taylor - Lippet's Bodyguard; Kenneth J. Warren - Grubov; Jeffry Wickham - Seely; Xavier Gélin - Revolutionary; Alf Joint - KGB Agent; Andre Charisse - Clerk; Norman Atkyns - Head Waiter; Philip Ross
Credit
Richard Rambaut - Art Director, Richard Rambeau - Art Director, Sue Yelland - Costume Designer, Irvin Kershner - Director, Robert Lawrence - Editor, Keith Palmer - Editor, Jerry Goldsmith - Composer (Music Score), John Scott - Composer (Music Score), Michael Seymour - Production Designer, Gerry Fisher - Cinematographer, Robert Chartoff - Producer, Robert Lawrence - Producer, Irwin Winkler - Producer, Harry Cordwell - Set Designer, Bill Daniels - Sound/Sound Designer, Doug Turner - Sound/Sound Designer, Larry Cohen - Screenwriter, Fred Freeman - Screenwriter, Malcolm Marmorstein - Screenwriter, Lawrence Cohen - Screenwriter
