Spies Like Us

Dir: John Landis

1985

***

1985 comedy Spies Like Us was written by Dan Aykroyd and Dave Thomas and was intended to be a sort of tribute to the old Road to... comedies that stared Bob Hope and Bing Crosby between 1940 and 1962. It was one of a string of films including Ghostbusters and Dragnet that Aykroyd had intended as a vehicle for he and comedy partner John Belushi before he died of a drugs overdose in 1982. Universal dropped the project after Belushi's death but after a few rewrites Warner Bros. picked it up and gave Aykroyd quite a bit of freedom. It's not great but it has its moments. John Landis was a wise choice of director as he clearly understands and appreciates this kind of humour, although this sort of shtick had been done better before. Chevy Chase is a great physical comedian and although much of his performance is overcooked, I never tire of watching his 80s comedies. Aykroyd and Chase work pretty well together but never really convince as a lasting comedy duo and indeed, they paired up again. The jokes are very hit and miss, when they're good they're great but when they're bad they stink. It's a very average comedy in an era where many a classic was made. What makes Spies Like Us interesting to be is the countless tributes it contains. Warner Bros. was happy to let Aykroyd praise his cinema heroes and the film contains some fascinating cameos. Bob Hope is the most obvious guest star, given that it is a Road to... tribute but the film also contains Aykroyd's favorite film makers, including special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, Greek Auteur Costa-Gavras, director and animator Terry Gilliam and master effects designer Derek Meddings as a group of field doctors and writer/director geniuses Joel Coen, Sam Raimi and Marten Breast as security guards. Writer, director, producer and actor Michael Apted is joined by b-movie legend Larry Cohen and music legend B.B. King as undercover special agents. It's like Aykroyd's movie version of Simon Patterson's The Great Bear. Plenty to enjoy and if you're a cinephile like me it'll keep you on your toes and what I will say is that while I found it average, average 80's comedies are generally miles ahead of of what are considered the best comedies of the subsequent decades.