The Spy Who Dumped Me is the most accurate portrayal of female friendship you’ve ever seen at the movies
There are many reasons to love The Spy Who Dumped Me: the incredible cast; the laugh-out-loud funny dialogue; the fact that it’s an action movie, a comedy, and a spy thriller all in one. But the thing that really makes us cheer is how accurately the movie portrays female friendship.
The Spy Who Dumped Me follows Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon) on a wild and dangerous (and hilarious) journey to deliver a package to Europe after learning that Audrey’s ex-boyfriend Drew (Justin Theroux) is a spy.
Along the way, Audrey and Morgan often pause to check in with each other, compliment each other’s bravery, and make sure their BFF is doing okay. These are small moments in an action-packed movie, but they’re the real moments that we have with our own friends IRL, and it feels special to see them play out on screen.
I spoke with Kunis and McKinnon about The Spy Who Dumped Me, and they agreed 100%. In fact, the careful attention paid to Audrey and Morgan’s friendship is what drew them both to the project in the first place.
“The script—as fun as it was, and as loud as it was, and as exciting as it was—I think it was so beautifully grounded in a friendship, Kunis told HelloGiggles. “That’s what stood out to me.
McKinnon immediately agreed, jumping in to emphasize that The Spy Who Dumped me isn’t your typical buddy comedy.
“Usually, in a buddy comedy, the people are sort of fighting for most of it, and then they learn to love each other by the end, McKinnon added. “This was like, the story of people who are mutually supporting each other the entire time. And yet it functions as a story. I don’t know how they did it, but it’s pretty good. That’s how my friendships are.
Susanna Fogel, co-writer and director of The Spy Who Dumped Me, said that Kunis and McKinnon had the chemistry of lifelong friends.
The actresses didn’t know each other before making the film, but they quickly grew close—and it shows in the final product.
“Kate has such respect for Mila and her choices and how family oriented she is. And Mila is in awe of Kate’s comedic talent, Fogel told HelloGiggles. “They were constantly whispering to each other in between takes. The editor would call and say, ‘I know this is creepy and voyeuristic, but you’ve gotta listen to this audio file.’ And he would play this little clip of them saying like, ‘I thought you were really good in that scene.’ ‘I thought YOU were really good in that scene! I really liked what you did there!’ It was so genuine.
The Spy Who Dumped Me is now playing in theaters.
