I Spy, You Spy, He Spy

By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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Move over Beavis and Butthead, Kenan and Kel, Adam Sandler and Homer Simpson. The duo in "I Spy" wins hands down in the realm of the ridiculous and the embarrassing. This distinction may not be a good one, especially to those of us who squirm in the face of too much stupidity. But for about 90 minutes, it makes for a slow-starting but fairly entertaining movie, especially if you can stand Eddie Murphy playing another over-the-top fool.

The classic 1965 television series, which starred Bill Cosby and Robert Culp as a then-novel Black and White spying duo, has been altered into something else altogether. While the original story highlighted the pair's unconventional sophistication and odd synergy, "I Spy" 2002 strives mightily to tell the story of an egomaniac (Eddie Murphy as boxer Kelly Robinson) versus a sorry sap (Owen Wilson as CIA super agent Alex Scott.).

Maybe in 1965 it was important that Cosby show his character to be smart and educated (he was a Rhodes scholar who knew several languages) but, now, all that proving business has gone out of the window. In "I Spy" 2002, the Black man represents the money-power-respect wing of the hip hop generation. Rather than education, Robinson cares more about the $24.7 million he made last year, his private plane, his crew of flunkies and the several gold diggers that hang on him like silky scarves.

When Murphy is this fired up—he truly acts for most of the film like he is on speed—you might alternate between bracing yourself with your armrest and, on the other hand, laughing your head off. You might feel uncomfortable at times, wondering if this manic, jive and vulgar Staggerlee is just a moneyed, high-energy version of the buffoon. On the other hand, Wilson's character could be just as easily pigeonholed as a dumb blonde, or as a recipient of the real affirmative action that exists for mediocre White males. This "I Spy" is all about outrageous discomfort.

Because Robinson has a boxing bout scheduled in Europe, he is tapped by the CIA to help Scott enter the elite circle of Arnold Gundars, a notorious arms smuggler who is believed to have in his possession a missing U.S. super stealth bomber. The process of retrieving the bomber makes comedic use of all the trappings of Bond-like spying: interesting gadgets, big explosions and heavy allusions to sex. In all the mayhem, Murphy supplies a profane quality usually not present in spy flicks. I don't think BET.com will allow me to repeat my favorite lines here (one involves the description of the smell of a men's Turkish bath).

Perhaps those devoted the 1965 "I Spy" series will consider this film a silly desecration. Perhaps it will reminds them more of the TV spy spoof "Get Smart." But there is such an alluring and comedic chemistry between Murphy and Wilson that it is easy to spy a possible sequel if this film does well.

Esther Iverem's reviews often appear on BET.com

-- November 16, 2002

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