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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William F

I think this was a great comedy with the fate of the world in these bufoons hands. I would wattch it again two legendary actors, what can i say?

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/09/24

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Blu B

Man the first 40 minutes is actually pretty solid and funny with great chemistry and gags by Chevy & Dan who got great chemistry at times. The problems start to show the moment in the middle when they operate on the guy and it just starts to lose focus and later commits the bigggest cardinal sin a comedy can do. It stops being funny. It's like as it goes on it relies more on its spy thriller plot for the comedy rather than the actors with an occasional laugh every now and than. It really dries up in terms of charm and fun the longer the second half goes. What's left without it is a serviceable spy plot that is ok at best and kind of stupid at worst. Everything about it is just ok honestly. It's amazing how much it just runs out of gas in terms of humor after the first 40 minutes. If your a die hard fan of Landis, Ackroyd or Chase than check this out. Otherwise most people can skip this. Chase is probably the best thing in this and isn't half bad even in the second half but is much stronger in the first half.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/30/23

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Michael T

Good for a few chuckles and nostalgia, remembering the 80's. Chase and Aykroyd were a good team. Some sexy pretty ladies to brighten up the screen.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/07/23

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yuri b

i liked it a lot but i also have confirmed garbage taste so idk. liked the gay russians

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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steve d

Not consistently funny enough.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Michael M

This is a solid funny 80s movie and it has a unique plot that no one could even come up with these days.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/18/22

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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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