Upamanyu Biswas
The 2020 spy comedy, ‘My Spy,’ depicts the journey of CIA Operative Jason Jones, also known as JJ, as his failure in a mission leads to him being assigned surveillance work while living undercover in the same building as his target. Things take a turn when a young, precocious girl, Sophie, discovers his real identity and uses it to blackmail him into doing her bidding. JJ’s demotion from espionage work to listening to the whims of a 9-year-old highlights his fall from grace. However, throughout the narrative, the CIA operative learns the value of reintegrating himself back into civilian life and the perils of his spy work, providing a glimpse into his vulnerable side!
Jason Jones AKA JJ: A Fictional CIA Agent
JJ is a fictional ex-Special Forces and CIA operative in ‘My Spy.’ The protagonist was crafted by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber when they penned the script for the film directed by Peter Segal. In the narrative, JJ is an all-action, robust operative who is always ready for a gunfight. However, his lack of finesse and sharpness often leads to specific roadblocks in his job at the CIA. His boss, David Kim, is wary of JJ’s military records, praising his straightforward work but disappointed at times for his inability to apply a delicate touch to rough situations. This is illustrated in the film’s opening scene when the protagonist botches an undercover arms deal by revealing his identity and gunning down everyone before any intelligence is gathered from the mission.
Dave Bautista, who plays JJ, said in an interview, “JJ is ex-Special Forces, so action and heroics are what he’s good at.” Unfortunately, while working at the CIA, this ability to jump straight into the gunfire works against JJ, who lacks the street smartness and the manipulation skills to hold his nerve when things get messy. His only way of engaging with trouble is by battling it head-on. This leads to his demotion in the eyes of Kim, who reminds the protagonist that he no longer needs to employ his fighting skills. Even the 9-year-old Sophie uses her guile and edge to get the better of him when she finds out his real identity on her own and proceeds to blackmail him. This illustrates how JJ is mostly brawn and has to learn to sharpen his wits.
JJ’s Relationship With Sophie Defines the Heart of the Narrative
When JJ fails to complete his surveillance work without inciting Sophie’s suspicion, he is devastated about the humiliation he might face at the Langley headquarters. However, as the narrative progresses, the young girl who initially uses him to meet her ends grows to see him in a different light. In an interview with Screenrant, Chloe Coleman, who plays Sophie, said, “JJ is someone who’s here to help her and who is there for her. Of course, at first she’s there to trap him, and she has him in the palm of her hand. She’s a bit manipulative with him; she makes him take her ice skating, and then there’s special day and a bunch of other stuff. But in the end, she kind of does it to have him end up with her family and her, which was her goal in the first place.”
Dave Bautista added that the relationship between the pair “is really about heart. You have an emotional investment in these characters and their story.” The emotion between the two opposite characters helps build a sense of relatability to the narrative and to Sophie’s need to embrace JJ within her family as her father. Additionally, while the protagonist is depressed to be assigned surveillance work where he has to lead a normal and mundane existence, CIA operatives in real life lead a similar life, which is far from the exciting cinematic portrayals that depict them engaging in world-ending threats all the time. Most officers within the CIA have an ordinary 9-to-5 job and live a life akin to civilians.
However, in the case of ‘My Spy,’ the narrative exaggerates the level of threat JJ has to deal with to emphasize his heroics and, ultimately, his usefulness to the CIA as a whole. There are aspects of his character that are drawn from real life, such as his heartfelt connection to Sophie and his boring undercover job of surveilling the family who lives in his building. Despite these additions, JJ is a fictional character who doesn’t exist in reality.
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