ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996                 TAG: 9605280101
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10 EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW 
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT 

`SPY HARD' COULD HAVE BEEN FUNNIER

As movie spoofs go, "Spy Hard" has its moments, but it's not as frantically funny or energetic as the "Naked Gun" series.

Star Leslie Nielsen is comfortable with the physical comedy, and he gets some offbeat support from the supporting cast. But the pace is half a step slow, and many of the films targeted for parody aren't exactly cutting-edge stuff. Do we really need another take-off on the bicycle scene in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"?

Despite the title, most of the humor is based on the James Bond movies, with Nielsen playing Agent WD-40 in pursuit of his old nemesis General Rancor (Andy Griffith), who's trying to take over the world. Filling out the roster of usual suspects are Nicolette Sheridan as the sidekick, Charles Durning as WD-40's paranoid director, Barry Bostwick as a conniving colleague, and Marcia Gay Harden as the amorous secretary.

Comparisons to the old "Get Smart" TV series are hard to ignore. More contemporary parodies are based on "Speed," "True Lies," "Jurassic Park," "Home Alone," "Sister Act" and "Pulp Fiction." For my money, the funniest bit is "Weird Al" Yankovic's inspired theme song played over the opening credit montage.

Director Rick Friedberg, a veteran of commercials and music videos, clearly knows what fans of this particular kind of comedy want to see, and he delivers the goods. But perhaps he and the Disney studio were aiming for a younger audience, and so the action is relatively tasteful.

While tastefulness may be admirable in many areas, it does not make for big laughs at the movies.

Spy Hard **

A Hollywood Pictures release playing at the Salem Valley 8, Valley View 6. 83 min. Rated PG-13 for bathroom humor, comic violence, strong language.

LENGTH: Short :   44 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Leslie Nielsen (left) is Agent WD-40, and Andy Griffith 
          is the evil General Rancor in ``Spy Hard.'' color.