“A Spy Movie” Review: The Queer-Inclusive Spy Genre Parody I Was Waiting For!

Stephanie Koenig and Brian Jordon Alvarez finally cracked the code. The duo just gave the world a queer-inclusive spoof of the spy genre in A Spy Movie. Netflix’s Q-Force wishes she were this funny!

If you, like me, were disappointed by the mess that was Netflix’s queer-inclusive spy romp Q-Force, A Spy Movie can help heal those emotions. I have been following Alvarez’s content for years now. Many of you might have seen clips from his hilarious The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo series being shared on social media.

However, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw A Spy Movie pop up on my YouTube feed. There’s a difference when it comes to creating short-form comedic content and an entire feature film spoofing the spy world. Anyway, I clicked play and didn’t pause for a second throughout the 1 hour 20 minutes long runtime.

Written, directed, and edited by Stephanie Koenig, A Spy Movie stars Koenig, Alvarez, and a bunch of other talented people you will instantly recognize if you have been following Alvarez’s work or are involved in the queer side of social media. 

Without giving away too many spoilers, the premise involves Evelina (played by Alvarez) wanting to cause chaos around the world by releasing an infectious disease and being the sole provider of the vaccine. Agent Jack Johnson (also Alvarez) has to stop Evelina, but in order to do so, he needs to get over his issues when it comes to working with partners in the field.

His new partner Bushilla Strasshola (Koenig) is a recent recruit and can’t wait to team up with Jack and save the world. The rest of the team consists of weapon specialist Edgar (Edgar Blackmon) and hacker Ken (Ken Kirby). What follows is a globe-trotting adventure as Jack’s team races against time to try and defeat Evelina and her minions while experiencing character growth, betrayal, and surprise reveals along the way.

A Spy Movie fully understands what kind of film it is. The creative team makes fun of the overall spy movie genre including how bullets always miss the lead characters, clichéd storytelling, and more. I laughed out loud during many scenes.

Some of my favorites include Jack and Bushilla’s initial meeting, a random dancer appearing when the two leads get attacked by minions, and the running gag involving Edgar stating that a four-person team just isn’t enough to save the entire world. There are also numerous moments where the narrative goes meta. There’s also a hilarious Casey Frey cameo.

One of the things I really liked about A Spy Movie is that, while it’s queer-inclusive, the narrative itself isn’t about being queer. This is a parody spy movie about saving the world where the characters just happen to be queer.

I’m all for more queer representation in various genres, especially the spy one, but I, like many other people, want a story that has more to say about the characters other than them being queer (I’m looking at you, Q-Force). And Koenig and her creative team delivered!

The pacing is handled well, with the characters moving from one situation to the next quite quickly. Don’t like a particular joke or comedic situation? Don’t worry. A new one will be delivered in the next few minutes.

A Spy Movie is unhinged. It’s camp. I need a sequel!

It’s available for free on YouTube. Go watch it and spread the word!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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