Spies Like Us

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Spies Like Us

PG

1985

1h 49m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

26 Reviews

56%

Popcornmeter

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

01/02/2018

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.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

03/26/2009

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.

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Stephen Garrett

Time Out

06/24/2006

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.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

11/30/2023

3/5

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

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Andrea Beach

Common Sense Media

02/06/2018

2/5

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

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TV Guide

01/14/2011

1/4

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.

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Joel H

@786Joel May 10

You know, I remember Spies Like Us being a lot funnier. As a kid, I thought this movie was peak comedy, with so many quotable lines and impressive espionage moments. However, when I was showing it to my kids, I kept waiting for the funny to happen. The gags are still there, and the memorable quotes happen, but it all just feels more spread out. And even though the plot made more sense to me now as an adult, it isn’t as clever as I once thought it was. I still like this comedy, but I don’t think I’ll be recruiting it for laughs again anytime soon. I guess that Spies Like Us lives best in my memory.

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Brad H.

@twstr988 May 10

Absolutely love this movie.

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Marius C

@MComan Jan 3

Honestly, I don't know why the low rating. Is a comedy movie and is fun. Worth watching.

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Dan B.

@AverageDan Dec 16

Chevy and Dan at their best

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alan g

@agenser Sep 28

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

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Taiga B

@Taiga Sep 19

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.

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John Landis

Director

Chevy Chase

Emmett Fitz-Hume

Dan Aykroyd

Austin Millbarge

Donna Dixon

Karen Boyer

Steve Forrest

General Sline

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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