Spy Hard
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: May 24, 1996 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
25
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
5
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Most of the laughs come near the beginning, before Rick Friedberg's klutzy directing becomes annoyingly monotonous. Read full review
50
San Francisco ExaminerBarbara Shulgasser
This movie may not be brilliant, but every now and then it's really funny. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
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. Read full review
42
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
I'm happy to report, though, that even a dud like Spy Hard can't completely douse the stumbling Zen charm of Leslie Nielsen, whose genius is that he never quite sheds the illusion that he isn't in on the joke. Read full review
40
EmpireDarren Bignell
Sporadically funny, but never more than a sting of crude gags. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Director Rick Friedberg (who made the "bad golf" videos with Leslie Nielsen) has crafted a dreadfully unfunny comedy that takes Naked Gun-like sketches and rehashes them without a whit of style or energy. Read full review
38
TV Guide MagazineStaff (not credited)
Nielsen's schtick is getting pretty threadbare by now -- his movies used to wring laughs from assaults on his silver-haired dignity, but after years of screen buffoonery, he has no dignity left to assault. Read full review
38
USA TodayAndy Seiler
Friedberg, who previously made Nielsen's golfing video and rental car commercials, knows only the low road -- and gets lost anyway. [24 May 1996, Pg.04.D]
30
VarietyGreg Evans
The picture that will test the durability of Leslie Nielsen's lowbrow franchise -- and proves the talent of the regrettably absent Zucker brothers-Jim Abrahams team --Spy Hard sticks so closely to the "Naked Gun" formula that one half-expects an O.J. Simpson cameo. Read full review
20
Los Angeles TimesDavid Kronke
It could have used several more passes on the screenplay to strengthen the gags and flesh out the characters. Read full review
11
Austin ChronicleJoey O'Bryan
Filled to the bursting point with witless, sub-Mad magazine movie parodies, pointless cameos by a seemingly endless parade of has-beens, and once-hysterical, now stale jokes lifted straight from "Airplane!" and the original "Naked Gun", Spy Hard is a truly desperate comedy. Read full review
10
Washington PostRita Kempley
Nielsen earns a few giggles with his big entrance and later on his even bigger belly, but he can't overcome the lousy material. Read full review
0
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
The best bits come in the first few minutes -- or maybe the jokes just seem fresher then. Read full review
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