Movies: “The Spy Who Dumped Me” Puts Women In High-Octane Action-Comedy

In the vein of many globe-hopping spy thrillers,” The Spy Who Dumped Me” sends its characters on an international odyssey to nine cities: Vilnius (Lithuania), Los Angeles, Vienna, Prague, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo, and Moscow dodging bullets as they learn to navigate the high-octane world of espionage, the two best buds quickly learn that they can trust no one, except each other.

Central to The Spy Who Dumped Me is the deep and true friendship between the two main characters, Audrey and Morgan, played by Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon.

“I love movies about friendship,” says director Susanna Fogel. “They are so criminally under-produced when it comes to women. We have all these movies about male friends, and we don’t have as many movies about female friends. We have women in romantic comedies, but we don’t really see women with their friends and how ridiculous and relatable those relationships can be, and yet for many women that is the most important relationship in their life. Everyone has a best friend, and everyone loves and hates their best friend at different times in their life.”

This dynamic resonated with the movie's two stars. “It would be like Jason Bourne and Ethan Hunt had a baby with ‘I Love Lucy'," explains Mila Kunis. "Kate and I are like Ethel and Lucy. One of us is like ‘you’re going to get in trouble!’ and the other one is saying ‘I’ll keep you out of trouble’, it is that best friend duo. Kate reminds me so much of Lucille Ball. I’ll be Ethel, and Kate is Lucille.”

“It’s so important for that friendship to feel genuine and lived in like it’s been around for decades,” adds Kate McKinnon. "I'm still friends with all of my best girlfriends from late elementary school and the ease of that and comfort of that... is an invaluable part of life."

Like many best friends, Audrey and Morgan have shared goals, but very different personalities. “Audrey is very gun-shy, and doesn’t lie well, is nervous in life, is self-conscious at all times, and plays life very safe,” says Kunis. “Morgan is her counterpart who is a struggling actress, who views life as one giant audition, and is constantly doing voices and characters, takes risks and chances, and goes balls out. The two of them kind of collide and go on this adventure together.”

“The Spy Who Dumped Me” is now showing in cinemas nationwide.

Movies: Genre-Bender “The Spy Who Dumped Me” Puts Besties In Extremely High-Octane Action

Kate McKinnon & Mila Kunis in The Spy Who Dumped Me

Two ordinary yet witty and feisty women are in thick of action in “The Spy Who Dumped Me” who embark on an international adventure after one of them had been dumped and discovered that the ex is actually a spy.   Starring an all-star talented cast that includes Mila Kunis, Emmy award winners Kate McKinnon and Gillian Anderson, Justin Theroux, Hasan Minhaj and Sam Heughan, “The Spy Who Dumped Me” features women kicking ass on both sides of the camera as it puts director/writer Susana Fogel at the helm of the film.

“The Spy Who Dumped Me” tells the story of Audrey (Kunis) and Morgan (McKinnon), long-time best friends who race through several European capitals, hunted by a host of top-secret operatives who want to help them or kill them -- or both.   Armed only with their wits, Audrey and Morgan learn to navigate the high-octane world of gun battles, car chases and daring escapes, they unwittingly dodge mishaps along the way that include a taciturn British agent Sebastian Henshaw (Heughan), pretentious jerk Topher Duffer (Minhaj), calculating spy boss Wendy (Anderson), and cold-blooded teenage assassin Nadedja (Sakhno).  Through it all, the two best buds quickly learn that they can trust no one, except each other.

"This is Bridesmaids meets Bond," says co-writer/director Fogel.  Fogel and her friend and fellow comedy writer David Iserson often found themselves sitting at the same café in Los Angeles, working on their own separate projects, occasionally trading ideas. This is how The Spy Who Dumped Me got its start. 

Movies: Mila Kunis & Kate McKinnon Play BFFs In Laugh-Out-Loud Action Adventure In “The Spy Who Dumped Me”

Two thirty-year-old best friends in Los Angeles, Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon) put a new hilarious, fall-of-your-seat twist in the spy movie genre when they are thrust unexpectedly into an international conspiracy when Audrey’s ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. The duo unwittingly jump into action, on the run throughout Europe from assassins and a suspicious-but-charming British agent on their trail as they hatch a plan to save the world.

Starring with Kunis and McKinnon in “The Spy  Who Dumped Me” are Justin Theroux, Gillian Anderson, Hasan Minhaj, Ivanna Sakhno, and Sam Heughan.

“My character is not an action hero, we’re just average girls trying to do these things. We’re always in these weird circumstances and we’re like ‘Thank God we like each other” and there’s lots of humor, lots of crazy action sequences,” shares Kunis.  “We just had a lot of moments of spontaneous love and friendship,” chimed in McKinnon. 

“Mila and Kate are both incredibly funny,” says producer Brian Grazer.  “But they’re probably the perfect odd couple.”

Director Susana Fogel says there’s a lot to look forward to on the action of “The Spy Who Dumped Me.” “It was really important that it felt legitimate. We were going for stunts that weren’t ironic, for real action-movie action. The stunts in the film were handled by veteran stunt coordinator Gary Powell, who has worked on several James Bond films and also served as Pierce Brosnan’s stunt double.”

From Pioneer Films, “The Spy Who Dumped Me” opens August 1 in cinemas nationwide. Check the film’s trailer here: TRAILER LINK