Spy Hard (1996)

User Rating:

4.7/10   

Director:

Rick Friedberg

Writers (WGA):

Jason Friedberg (story) &
Aaron Seltzer (story) ...

Release Date:

24 May 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action

Tagline:

All the action. All the women. Half the intelligence.

Plot:

General Rancor is threatening to destroy the world with a missile he is hiding at his secret base. But to complete his goal...

Plot Keywords:

Missile | KGB | Secret Base | Scientist | Computer Chip

Cast

Leslie Nielsen	...	Dick Steele, Agent WD-40
Nicollette Sheridan	...	Veronique Ukrinsky, Agent 3.14
Charles Durning	...	The Director
Marcia Gay Harden	...	Miss Cheevus
Barry Bostwick	...	Norman Coleman
John Ales	...	Kabul
Andy Griffith	...	General Rancor
Elya Baskin	...	Professor Ukrinsky
Mason Gamble	...	McCluckey
Carlos Lauchu	...	Slice
Stephanie Romanov	...	Victoria / Barbara Dahl
Joyce Brothers	...	Steele's Tag Team Member (as Dr. Joyce Brothers)
Ray Charles	...	Bus Driver
Hulk Hogan	...	Steele's Other Tag Team Member
Roger Clinton	...	Agent Clinton

Also Known As:

Live and Let Spy (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for crude humor and sexual innuendo.

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Finland:S | Germany:12 (w) | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden - 301 N. Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Hollywood Pictures

Trivia:

Cameo: [Talisa Soto] [The Bond Girl, Lupe Lamora from the James Bond movie Licence to Kill (1989) as a Seductress in a Hotel Room (Billed as Desiree More, itself an Ian Flemingesque double entendre moniker).]

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the opening sequence, Steele has burned a hole in his parachute by throwing away his cigar. As he comes into land, a smoke canister can be seen hanging underneath the canopy, simulating a burning canopy.

Quotes:

[Two thugs are dragging McCluckey up some stairs, hitting his head on every step]
Thug: That's for Getting Even With Dad. And that's for My Girl. And that's for My Girl 2.
McCluckey: I wasn't even in My Girl 2!
Both Thugs: We don't care!

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Home Alone (1990)

Soundtrack:

Spy Hard Theme

Not One Of Leslie's Best

I've seen a few of Leslie Nielsen's spoof movies that were, indeed, funny for the most part such as his role as Dracula or in the takeoff of The Fugitive. However, this one - a parody of the James Bond film - just didn't have the quality or quantity of belly laughs, or laughs at all. It relies too much on slapstick and tired, overused jokes. To be fair, there are some funny scenes and parodies of other films but just not enough of them. The best part of the movie may have been the opening credits, which was an excellent takeoff on the memorable Bond openings.

I also thought they overdid the irreverence on the convent scene. It's typical Hollywood in which nuns and priests are portrayed as the opposite of what they are supposed to be (nuns with machine guns and disrespectful language??! Let's not overdo the satire.)

Well, at least it wasn't boring and it's wasn't overly long at just 81 minutes.