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A Masterpiece!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The year after the film was released I saw the movie and was not impressed. Thirty-two years later it still comes across as stilted, poorly acted and poorly directed. On paper the script must have looked good but it doesn't translate well to the screen for which I blame the director for just letting the actors walk through their lines or in the case of Chevy Chase in the exam scene overdo it. There were a few good lines but Chevy Chase didn't deliver any of them that made me laugh. Ackroyd was acceptable as the straight man so although I'd like to blame CC for the failure to amuse I reckon Landis deserves the blame. Take the stilted scenes with Davison and other actors > there is very little to say for them. The script had potential - maybe if Belushi had been in the film rather than Chase, as intended, it would have worked better.

SPIES LIKE US is a likable 1980s comedy that basically consists of Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd goofing around for just over an hour and a half. There's no more or less to it than that, but as a fan of the two actors I was completely fine with the premise. The story brings in a Cold War background and features the two stars as 'decoy' agents parachuted into Asia in order to do battle with the nefarious Russians.I think Chase and Aykroyd are two of the funniest comedians of the era so watching them get the opportunity to team up is a no-brainer for me. Chase plays as always the showier role of the two and peaks earlier with the hilarious exam room set-piece. Aykroyd is slightly more subtle and offers plenty of warm character humour from his nerdy agent. The rambling storyline is basic and episodic but the jokes come thick and fast and there's a good mix of wry and witty one-liners, slapstick humour, and more surreal moments.The film was directed by John Landis who as ever does a good job with it and takes the time to throw in a few film references for the fans, including cameos for Terry Gilliam, Ray Harryhausen, and even Bob Hope. Sam Raimi and Joel Coen are also present in blink-and-you'll-miss-'em parts. The ending is a little contrived but when the overall result is a good-natured comedy with two stars at the top of their game then it's difficult to criticise too much.

A pair of knuckleheads get embroiled in international affairs as America's worst spies. Of course, their dispatch is deliberate, as they are being used as decoys for the real operation, shipped off to be nothing short of glorified target practice for the less than friendly groups over in the Middle East.Aggressively pedestrian, this mid 80s John Landis offering lacks spark, wit or even hard laughs. A shame as Chase and Aykroyd make for a decent team, and the plethora of cameos make for a cute novelty (including a quickie from one of my heroes, Terry Gilliam) for cineasts. It's even directed competently, with nicely varied locations and production values that feel like they belong in a proper spy film: secret bunkers, the arid lands of the Middle East and the snow drenched hills of Russia.However, all of this is null and void if the funnies just ain't coming, and despite Ackroyd having a writing credit, most of this film is other leaden wordplay or poorly timed slapstick that conceptually, should be funny (like a gag involving a jet, or another involving missiles) but somehow, it just doesn't click. Comedy is a really subjective thing, but given the film's lowly reputation, it's obvious I'm not alone here. And when it's not either of those, it's just a retread of old spy film tropes that have already been parodied 1001 times before and far better, and it does nothing new or amusing with them to make the revisit worthwhile.Honestly, beyond the cameos and the odd, rare chuckle, Spies Like Us is a rightfully forgotten title from Landis' extensive catalogue. It says something when I'm craving Beverly Hills Cop III over this.

Out of all the comedies produced in the 1980's, it's still one of those movies that make me laugh at all the same jokes even though I have seen this movie endless amounts of times. And no matter how many times I see it, it still is as funny as the last time I've seen.It's all the early SNL actors who went into movies during this time contributes to the golden age of comedic movies. Chevy Chase was on top of his game in the '80's, so was Dan Aykroyd. There's just something about movies like this movie, Stripes, Caddyshack, Trading Places and so on that just stand the test of time so well. I would much rather be in an era of comedic films like this then the garbage that came out in the early 2000's with all the dumb Farrelly Brothers and American Pie films. How many times can you say a different variation on a dick or fart joke before you realize that's all that those hacks have in their repertoire.