Spymate (2006)

Mike (Chris Potter) is in the spy business, even though he has a young daughter, Amelia (Emma Roberts). After a near disaster however in the Middle East, where he is rescued by his darling, sidekick chimp, Mike gives up his profession. Instead, he and his staff run a small circus, with the small ape as the star. However, can you keep a good spy down? Let's see. Amelia is very smart and she is recruited by a conniving, thieving scientist to work on a project with some glitches. Dad, not realizing anything is amiss, is glad to part with her for a day or so. But, its soon obvious that Amelia has been kidnapped and Mike has to gather the gang and so forth from the Caribbean to Japan to search out his daughter. Will he be successful? This is a fun family flick, with a nice cast and great scenery. Roberts, in one of her first big roles, is adorable, as is her dad and the precocious chimp. Yes, the story loses a bit of dazzle as it goes along but Pat Morita arrives to help keep the movie going. All in all, the flick is a very fine choice for a family night at the movies.

Going into this movie, I realized even before it started that I am not the audience for this kind of movie. I am an adult, and this movie was made for kids. While watching it, I did see why kids aged 8 or under might like it. The 10 year old girl is portrayed as being intelligent, there is plenty of slapstick, and what the chimpanzee is portrayed as doing will interest kids.So kids might like this movie. What will adults think? Well, I will admit that a few things impressed me about the movie. The production values, including filming in several countries, make the movie look slicker and more expensive than typical direct-to-video kiddie flicks. And adults will be impressed by what the chimpanzee trainers were able to do with the chimpanzee. But despite things like these, I found the movie heavy going. It's very simple-minded at times, almost insulting to the intelligence. The movie also portrays some foreign people in a somewhat uncomfortable way that's close to being racist. If parents rent this movie for their kids, I recommend that they exit the living room while their kids watch the movie.

I will say that I enjoyed this movie. Yes, it is a children's movie. I wont get your hope up too high, after all, it is a low budget movie. I was reminded of Lancelot link Secret Chimp (1970) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065309/) I would recommend viewing Spymate with the above to appreciate the advances in CGI (Computer Generated Imagery, and animation). See the animation company credits under the link "View all credits". What's it about? Think of it as pure fantasy -with such ideas as a black belt chimpanzee trained for spy work!?!! There are the familiar names of Chris Potter and Debra Jorup (That 70's show- Eric's mom) along with a few newer names to the movie industry.

If there is one thing I know, it is that this is no monkey movie! In actual fact, if one is commenting on knowing anything about monkey movies, one should know that Minkey is a chimp..not a monkey. I have only had a few acting gigs, but when that chimp pulled his skate board out from his back pack and dropped it on the ground, I almost shed a tear. The dojo scene reminded me of a first class Keanu scene from Matrix...or was that Matrix 2...all those movies blend together if you ask me. Lasers, Chimps, and a live action avalanche. It's a recipe for high drama, serious suspense, and a killer delivery from one of the best Chimps on the west coast. A+