{{short description|Film by Rick Friedberg}} {{Use American English|date = March 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2016}} {{Infobox film | name = Spy Hard | image = Spyhardposter.jpg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = [[Rick Friedberg]] | producer = Rick Friedberg<br />[[Doug Draizin]]<br />[[Jeffrey Konvitz]] | screenplay = Rick Friedberg<br />[[ComedySportz|Dick Chudnow]]<br />[[Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer|Jason Friedberg<br />Aaron Seltzer]] | story = Jason Friedberg<br />Aaron Seltzer | starring = {{Plainlist| * [[Leslie Nielsen]] * [[Nicollette Sheridan]] * [[Charles Durning]] * [[Marcia Gay Harden]] * [[Barry Bostwick]] * [[Andy Griffith]] }} | music = [[Bill Conti]] | cinematography = [[John R. Leonetti]] | editing = Eric Sears | studio = [[Hollywood Pictures]] | distributor = [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]] | released = {{Film date|1996|5|24}} | runtime = 81 minutes | country = United States | language = English | budget = $18 million<ref name="mojo" /> | gross = $84 million<ref name=ww>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|page=14|title=Top 100 worldwide b.o. champs|date=January 20, 1997}}</ref> }} '''''Spy Hard''''' is a 1996 American [[Spy film|spy]] [[parody film]] starring [[Leslie Nielsen]] (who also [[executive produced]]) and [[Nicollette Sheridan]], [[Charles Durning]], [[Marcia Gay Harden]], [[Barry Bostwick]], and [[Andy Griffith]], [[parody]]ing [[James Bond]] and other [[action film]]s. The introduction to the film is sung by comedy artist [["Weird Al" Yankovic]], and it was the first film to be written by [[Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer]], who went on to write and direct parody films such as ''[[Date Movie]]'', ''[[Disaster Movie]]'', and ''[[Meet the Spartans]]''. The film's title is a parody of ''[[Die Hard]]''. The film was directed by [[Rick Friedberg]] who produced with [[Doug Draizin]] and [[Jeffrey Konvitz]]. The film follows Dick Steele, Agent WD-40, who is assigned by his Director, to stop the evil General Rancor from destroying the world. WD-40 believed Rancor was dead and he teams up with the hot KGB Agent Veronique Ukrinsky to find Rancor and save the world.
''Spy Hard'' was released by [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures]] under its [[Hollywood Pictures]] banner on May 24, 1996. The film received negative reviews from critics, who found the story, screenplay, and Friedberg's direction to be disappointing, but Nielsen's acting and its slapstick humor received some praise. In spite of the criticism, the film was a box-office success, grossing $84 million against a production budget of $18 million.
== Plot == Secret agent [[WD-40]] Dick Steele embarks on a mission, along with the mysterious and lovely Veronique Ukrinsky, Agent [[Pi|3.14]], to rescue the kidnapped Barbara Dahl and stop the evil genius, General Rancor, from seizing control of the planet.
Rancor was wounded in an earlier encounter and no longer has arms. However, he can "arm" himself by attaching robotic limbs with various weapons attached. Steele is approached by an old friend, agent Steven Bishop, who unsuccessfully tries to recruit him out of retirement. However, when a news report Steele is watching reveals that Bishop has been killed, Steele returns to the agency. Steele is given his new assignment by the Director, who is also testing out a variety of elaborate disguises. At headquarters, Steele encounters an old agency nemesis, Norm Coleman, and flirts with the Director's adoring secretary, Miss Cheevus.
On the job, Steele is assisted by an agent named Kabul, who gives him rides in a never-ending variety of specially designed cars. They seek help from McLuckey, a blond child who was left [[Home Alone|home alone]] and is very good at fending off intruders. Steele resists the temptations of a dangerous woman he finds waiting for him in bed. But he does work very closely with Agent 3.14, whose father, Professor Ukrinsky, is also being held captive by Rancor.
Everything comes to an explosive conclusion at the General's remote fortress, where Steele rescues both Barbara Dahl and Miss Cheevus and launches a literally disarmed Rancor into outer space, saving mankind.
== Cast == {{castlist| * [[Leslie Nielsen]] as Dick Steele, Agent WD-40 * [[Nicollette Sheridan]] as Veronique Ukrinsky, Agent 3.14 * [[Charles Durning]] as The Director * [[Marcia Gay Harden]] as Miss Cheevus * [[Barry Bostwick]] as Norm Coleman * [[John Ales]] as Kabul * [[Andy Griffith]] as General Rancor * [[Elya Baskin]] as Professor Ukrinsky * [[Mason Gamble]] as McCluckey * Carlos Lauchu as "Slice" * [[Stephanie Romanov]] as Victoria Dahl / Barbara Dahl * [[Joyce Brothers]] as Steele's Tag-Team Member * [[Brian Howe (actor)|Brian Howe]] as Bartender in Hawaiian Shirt * [[Ray Charles]] as Bus Driver * [[Hulk Hogan]] as Dick's Tag-Team Partner * [[Roger Clinton, Jr.|Roger Clinton]] as Agent Clinton * [[Robert Culp]] as Businessman * [[Fabio Lanzoni]] as Himself * [[Robert Guillaume]] as Steven Bishop * [[Pat Morita]] as Brian, The Waiter * [[Talisa Soto]] as Desiree More * [[Mr. T]] as Helicopter Pilot * [[Alex Trebek]] as Agency Tape Recorder (voice) * [[Taylor Negron]] as Painter * [[Clyde Kusatsu]] as Noggin * [[Curtis Armstrong]] as Pastry Chef * Tina Arning as Dancer #1 * William Barillaro as Blind Driver * [[Michael Berryman]] as The Man With The Oxygen Mask * [[Downtown Julie Brown]] as Cigarette Girl * [[Stephen Burrows (actor)|Stephen Burrows]] as Agent Burrows * Keith Campbell as Thug #2 * [[Carl Ciarfalio]] as Thug #1 * Brad Grunberg as Postal Worker * [[Wayne Cotter]] as Male Dancer * Rick Cramer as Heimlich, Rancor Terrorist * [[Eddie Deezen]] as Rancor Guard That Gets Spit On * Joey Dente as Goombah, Dead Wise Guy * Paul Eliopoulos as Agent #1 * Andrew Christian English as Paratrooper * [[Johnny G]] as Agent #2 * [[Loren Janes|Loren & Ginger Janes]] as Couple In The Elevator (reprising their identical role from ''[[True Lies]]'') * Michael Lee Gogin ([[Brad Garrett]], voice) as Short Rancor Guard * [[Bruce Gray]] as The President * [[Johnny Kassir|John Kassir]] as Rancor Guard At Intercom * [[Sally Stevens]] as Vocal Conductor/ Singer * [[Thuy Trang]] as Hawaiian-Dressed Waitress * [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] as Himself, in the title sequence * Larry Walsh as Musician * [[Rawle D. Lewis]] as Boatman #1 * [[Alexandra Paul]] as Woman In Murphy Bed * [[Angela Visser]] as Gorgeous Blonde * Katherine Moffat as Agent Moffat<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.peliplat.com/en/library/movie/pp12655231/cast |title=Spy Hard (1996) {{!}} Full Cast |access-date=April 26, 2024 |archive-date=April 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240426010003/https://www.peliplat.com/en/library/movie/pp12655231/cast |url-status=live }}</ref> }}
==Production==
=== Title sequence === [[File:Konvitz & Nielsen.tif|thumb|right|Konvitz and Nielsen in a photo from the set of the movie.]] [["Weird Al" Yankovic]] sings [[Spy Hard (song)|the title song]] and directs the title sequence. It is a parody of title sequences from the [[James Bond]] films designed by [[Maurice Binder]], specifically 1965's ''[[Thunderball (film)|Thunderball]]'', complete with multiple coloured backgrounds, silhouetted figures, women dancing with guns, and "wavy" text. Additionally, an [[urban legend]] states that during the recording of the theme to ''Thunderball'', [[Tom Jones (singer)|Tom Jones]] held the song's final note long enough to pass out. Yankovic holds it so long that his head explodes. Originally, Yankovic had planned to loop the note to the required length, but in the studio, he discovered he was able to hold the note long enough that no looping was required.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/ask-al/ |title=Ask Al |last=Yankovic |first=Weird Al |author-link="Weird Al" Yankovic |website="Weird Al" Yankovic |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=December 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221094351/http://weirdal.com/archives/miscellaneous/ask-al/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The sequence was later included on ''[["Weird Al" Yankovic: The Ultimate Video Collection]]'', although, for legal reasons, all credits and titles had to be taken out, excluding that of the film and of Yankovic himself.
=== Allegations of studio interference ===
In the decades since its initial release, director Rick Friedberg has spoken at length about his unhappy experience with the film, alleging rampant interference on the part of [[Disney]] that led to an "eviscerated" <ref>{{cite web |last1=Trembath |first1=Ron |title=Rick Friedberg [Interview] |url=https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2017/08/21/rick-friedberg-interview/ |website=Trainwreck'd Society |date=August 21, 2017 |publisher=WordPress |access-date=20 April 2024 |archive-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420153343/https://trainwreckdsociety.com/2017/08/21/rick-friedberg-interview/ |url-status=live }}</ref> final product.
Disagreements between the filmmaker and the studio started during the casting process. Friedberg envisioned the villain as "international" a la those typical of the James Bond films. With this description in mind, he suggested [[Patrick Stewart]] and [[Nigel Hawthorne]]. Disney executives were unreceptive, firing back sarcastically "What is this, the British Royal Theatre Club? Cast a TV star!{{'"}}.<ref name="SpyHards Podcast">{{cite web |last1=Friedberg |first1=Rick |title=SpyMaster Interview #28: Rick Friedberg |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEPvRlQGOzw |website=YouTube |date=December 6, 2023 |publisher=SpyHards Podcast |access-date=20 April 2024 |archive-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420153343/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEPvRlQGOzw |url-status=live }}</ref> Friedberg explains "They didn't understand the kind of people I wanted. All they wanted was to copy Zucker-Abrahams. All they wanted was ex-TV stars from the 70s, 80s, 90s.{{'"}}.<ref name="SpyHards Podcast"/> Andy Griffith was ultimately cast as General Rancor.
A major point of contention during production was ''Spy Hard''{{'}}s intended target audience. While Disney insisted that ''Spy Hard'' appeal to as wide a demographic as possible (with a particular emphasis on children), Friedberg maintained that their core demographic was males in their early to late teens. Friedberg was forced to cut or rewrite entire set-pieces if Disney deemed them "too sophisticated" for young audiences.<ref name="Rick Friedberg">{{cite book |last1=Friedberg |first1=Rick |title=Hollywood War Stories: How to Survive in the Trenches |date=September 19, 2014 |publisher=Rick Friedberg |isbn=9781500991616 |url=https://www.rickfriedberg.com/ |access-date=20 April 2024 |archive-date=April 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240420153342/https://www.rickfriedberg.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Recalling his exchanges with Disney executives, Friedberg said, "The primary thing they did which is the most painful was that they cut all of the good dialogue and all the story. I said 'No matter how funny this is, no matter what it parodies, it has to have a storyline'. They said 'Nobody gives a shit about the story - all they care about is jokes.{{'"}} <ref name="SpyHards Podcast"/>
Late in production, with the film one day behind schedule, Friedberg claims Disney removed him as director and hired a replacement to conduct reshoots. Now unofficially working in a consultant capacity, Friedberg was sent the dailies from the reshoots, which he said were "all terrible".<ref name="Rick Friedberg"/> Final editing on ''Spy Hard'' occurred without Friedberg's involvement. Following advice from ''[[Naked Gun]]'' co-screenwriter [[Jim Abrahams]], Disney was determined to bring ''Spy Hard'' in at a lean 84-minute running time.<ref name="SpyHards Podcast"/> Friedberg says Disney refused to budge from this number and made extensive cuts to his 96-minute original version, resulting in continuity errors and a lack of narrative comprehension. The running time for ''Spy Hard''{{'}}s eventual theatrical release, before closing credits, was 77 minutes.
Interviewed on a 2022 podcast, when asked to name his favourite moment or scene from the film, Friedberg admitted, "I don't think there is a single one. I can't watch it. Its too painful for me when I see what was altered or what was cut."<ref name="SpyHards Podcast"/>{{verify source|date=April 2024}}
== Release ==
=== Box office === The film opened at number 3 at the US box office with $10,448,420 behind ''[[Mission: Impossible (film)|Mission: Impossible]]''{{'}}s opening weekend and ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]''{{'}}s third. It eventually grossed $26,960,191 in the United States and Canada.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spyhard.htm |title=Spy Hard |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |publisher=[[IMDb]] |access-date=October 13, 2020 |archive-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102735/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spyhard.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Internationally, it did much better, grossing $57.2 million for a worldwide total of $84 million.<ref name=ww/>
==Reception==
===Critical response=== On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film holds an approval rating of 7% based on 41 reviews, and an average rating of 3.6/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Leslie Nielsen's comic gifts are undisputed, but ''Spy Hard''{{'}}s lazy script and slapdash direction fail to take advantage of them."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spy_hard/ |title=Spy Hard |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=December 11, 2021 |archive-date=March 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240319070222/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spy_hard |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 25 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".<ref>{{cite web |title=Spy Hard |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/spy-hard |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=2020-10-31 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130113008/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/spy-hard |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= SPY HARD (1996) C+ |website= [[CinemaScore]].com |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>
[[James Berardinelli]] of ''ReelViews'' wrote: "Director Rick Friedberg [...] has crafted a dreadfully unfunny comedy that takes ''[[Naked Gun]]''-like sketches and rehashes them without a whit of style or energy. ... For movie-after-movie, Leslie Nielsen has milked this same personality, and it's starting to wear ''very'' thin. As affable as the actor is, there's just nothing left in this caricature. However, while ''Spy Hard'' might have worked better with, say, Roger Moore in the title role (his 007 was a parody towards the end, anyway), Nielsen's performance is only a small part of a massively-flawed production. ''Hard'' is the operative word here, because, even at just eighty-one minutes, this movie is unbelievably difficult to sit through."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://preview.reelviews.net/movies/s/spy_hard.html|title=Review: Spy Hard|last=Berardinelli|first=James|date=1996|website=reelviews.net|access-date=October 13, 2011|archive-date=November 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110213202/https://preview.reelviews.net/movies/s/spy_hard.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Stephen Holden]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote: "''Spy Hard'' is never funnier than during its opening credit sequence in which "Weird Al" Yankovic bellows his parody of the brassy theme song from ''Goldfinger'', while obese cartoon silhouettes swim across the screen. ... Instead of building sustained comic set pieces, it takes a machine-gun approach to humor. Without looking at where it's aiming, it opens fire and sprays comic bullets in all directions, trusting that a few will hit the bull's-eye. A few do, but many more don't. ... Around the halfway point, ''Spy Hard'' begins to run out of ideas and becomes a series of crude, rambunctious parodies of other films. ... When ''Spy Hard'' abruptly ends after only 81 minutes, you sense that it has used up every last round of available ammunition. It was simply exhausted and couldn't move another inch."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B07E2D71039F937A15756C0A960958260&partner=Rotten%20Tomatoes|title=FILM REVIEW;That's Agent 007? No, It Must Be 000|last=Holden|first=Stephen|date=May 24, 1996|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=October 13, 2011 }}</ref>
[[Mick LaSalle]] of ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' wrote: "It's done in the style of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker ''Naked Gun'' series, but although the style is there, the jokes aren't. ''Spy Hard'' relies on silly slapstick, takeoffs of recent films and the shock effect of celebrity cameos. But all that exertion doesn't add up to more than a handful of laughs. ... The story is too weak to work even as a clothesline for gags. ''Spy Hard'' eschews a coherent story and instead just strings together movie takeoffs. ... Nielsen, with his expert deadpan and sense of comic timing, creates the illusion of humor – for about 15 minutes. Thanks to him, what could have been an unbearable experience becomes merely empty. Still, he can't work miracles, and nothing short of a miracle could have made ''Spy Hard'' worth seeing."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Spy-Hard-Up-For-Jokes-Nielsen-vehicle-has-no-2980604.php |title='Spy' Hard Up For Jokes / Nielsen vehicle has no wheels |last=LaSalle |first=Mick |author-link=Mick LaSalle |date=June 23, 2011 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |access-date=October 31, 2020 |archive-date=September 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926205316/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Spy-Hard-Up-For-Jokes-Nielsen-vehicle-has-no-2980604.php |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[Stephen Hunter]] of ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]'' gave the film a negative review, writing that the film is "more of a parody of a parody than a parody" and in particular criticizing director Rick Friedberg, asking, "[w]as this poor guy ever funny?"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-05-24-1996145066-story.html |title='Spy Hard' is no 'Airplane' Review: Spy-thriller spoof has Leslie Nielsen, but it lacks the rapid-fire gags we have come to expect. |last=Hunter |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Hunter |date=May 24, 1996 |website=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327033314/https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1996-05-24-1996145066-story.html |archive-date=2019-03-27 |access-date=March 27, 2019 }}</ref>
[[Marcia Gay Harden]] wasn't a fan of the film itself as well:
{{blockquote|Ugh. I hated doing that movie. [Laughs.] It was, I thought, going to be an opportunity to have a lot of fun, but it was just chaos and, uh, not so much fun. And not so funny. I mean, Leslie [Nielsen] was great, but it was really his show, and it was just… very chaotic. Behind schedule, over budget. People mention her to me, but I've never really seen the movie. All I know is that she was supposed to be sexy, and I don't know if she even was.|[[Marcia Gay Harden]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/marcia-gay-harden-on-her-favorite-character-and-wo-86533 |title=Marcia Gay Harden on her favorite character and working with Clint Eastwood |last=Harris |first=Will |date=October 11, 2012 |website=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=March 27, 2019 |archive-date=October 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030073833/http://www.avclub.com/article/marcia-gay-harden-on-her-favorite-character-and-wo-86533 |url-status=live }}</ref>|source=}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{wikiquote}} * {{IMDb title|0117723|Spy Hard}} * {{DisneyAtoZ|title=''Spy Hard''}} * {{TCMDb title|300931|Spy Hard}} * {{mojo title|spyhard|Spy Hard}}
{{Rick Friedberg}} {{Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer}}
[[Category:1996 American films]] [[Category:1996 English-language films]] [[Category:1990s parody films]] [[Category:1990s spy comedy films]] [[Category:1996 comedy films]] [[Category:1996 films]] [[Category:American crime comedy films]] [[Category:American parody films]] [[Category:American slapstick comedy films]] [[Category:American spy comedy films]] [[Category:English-language spy comedy films]] [[Category:Films directed by Rick Friedberg]] [[Category:Films scored by Bill Conti]] [[Category:Hollywood Pictures films]] [[Category:Parody films based on James Bond films]] [[Category:English-language action adventure films]]