Spies Like Us

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Spies Like Us

PG

Released Dec 6, 1985

1h 49m

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

35%

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26 Reviews

56%

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25,000+ Ratings

Looking for a way out of their mundane government jobs, Austin Millbarge (Dan Aykroyd) and Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chevy Chase) take the entrance exam for a CIA espionage program. Immediately chosen to take part in a top-secret mission in the Middle East by the officious Gen. Sline (Steve Forrest), the new recruits are set upon by Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Soon it becomes clear that the hapless pair are being used as decoys to expose the Russians for a Cold War nuclear showdown.

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Critics Consensus

Despite the comedic prowess of its director and two leads, Spies Like Us appears to disavow all knowledge of how to make the viewer laugh.

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

That Chase is godawful is no surprise -- he's been running on empty for years with variations on that tired "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" riff.

Jan 2, 2018

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Landis never bothers to account for the friendship that springs up spontaneously between these two antipathetic types, but then he never bothers to account for anything in this loose progression of recycled Abbott and Costello riffs.

Mar 26, 2009

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Stephen Garrett

Time Out

The script is so patchy that most of the genuine laughs are squeezed into the first half; the rest is a rather tacky and confused extended joke about the nuclear arms race.

Jun 24, 2006

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…watchable comedy, front-loaded with gags that thin out as conventional spy movie mechanisms take over…

Rated: 3/5

Nov 30, 2023

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Andrea Beach

Common Sense Media

Dated '80s comedy has strong language, few laughs.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 6, 2018

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TV Guide

Landis' direction is indulgent, to say the least, with big landscapes, big crashes, big hardware, and big gags filling the screen. What he forgets is character development, that all-important factor that must exist for comedy to work well.

Rated: 1/4

Jan 14, 2011

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alan g

A great spy spoof. Chevy Chase and Dan Akroyd are great together. Donna Dixon also good. Vanessa Angel beautiful as always.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/28/25

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Taiga B

This comedy has two comedic legends, Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase and sometimes the jokes hit and others it doesn't. From scene to scene, the chemistry between these two is great at times, while in others it seems like they're brothers that haven't seen each other in years. The best scenes have to be the exam scene, the doctor scene and that hilarious operation scene. This movie may not be a classic, but it's still a fun watch.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

09/19/25

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David W

Was this meant to have been a comedy..?

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/09/25

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Mike W.

What better movie to show how America needed the average citizen to save the country?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/02/25

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Evan T

C'mon guys. This movie is hilarious.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/18/25

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Stephen C

Funny in 1 hour and 49 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $56,500,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/04/25

Full Review

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John Landis

Director

Chevy Chase

Emmett Fitz-Hume

Dan Aykroyd

Austin Millbarge

Donna Dixon

Karen Boyer

Steve Forrest

General Sline

Bruce Davison

Ruby

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Synopsis

Looking for a way out of their mundane government jobs, Austin Millbarge (Dan Aykroyd) and Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chevy Chase) take the entrance exam for a CIA espionage program. Immediately chosen to take part in a top-secret mission in the Middle East by the officious Gen. Sline (Steve Forrest), the new recruits are set upon by Soviet forces in Afghanistan. Soon it becomes clear that the hapless pair are being used as decoys to expose the Russians for a Cold War nuclear showdown.

Director: John Landis
Producer: George Folsey Jr., Brian Grazer
Screenwriter: Dan Aykroyd, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 1985, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $56.5M
Runtime: 1h 49m

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