Have you ever laughed so hard you snorted? I can honestly tell you that I have never in my life snorted while laughing, but to my surprise there were a lot of people who did at last weeks sneak peek of "I-Spy." For some reason, may be it's Eddie's recent streak of bad movies, I was convinced that "I-Spy" was going to be one of those movies where all the funny parts are in the trailer. I'm happy to report this was not the case at all. If anything, director Betty Thomas has really captured the essence of the action comedy buddy picture. The teaming of Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson is not only fabulous, but incredibly smart: Eddie brings a dynamic comedic style, while Owen is the easy going funny everyday man.

The film opens with a U.S. Government spy, Alexander Scott (Owen Wilson), trying to retrieve a pilot that was involved in, and has information regarding the stolen stealth fighter called the Switchblade. The Switchblade is the most sophisticated plane in the world; it has camouflage capabilities that allow the plane to destroy targets without ever being seen. As Alex tries to get the pilot to safety one thing is painfully obvious, Alex is not a very good spy. He's clumsy, silly, and not the type of individual anyone should trust with an assignment this important. After a bit of a shoot out Alex manages to get some information from the pilot, this of course just before getting him killed. This is a very predictable outcome, but nonetheless amusing.

In Las Vegas, world class boxing champion Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy) is making his way to the ring. Kelly's cocky flamboyant over the top attitude is reminiscent of the Nutty Professor's alter ego Buddy Love. It's not surprising that after Kelly wins the fight he receives a call from a slick talking President Bush, asking him to get involved in a secret mission. Back at spy headquarters Alex wonders why he is getting second rate gadgets while Carlos (Gary Cole), a super sexy James Bond type of spy, gets all the small cool gadgets. We learn that Alex has a crush on a spy named Rachel (Famke Janssen), and is convinced that if he goes on a stake-out with her, like Carlos did, she would be his girl. Before Alex gets his new mission assignment Carlos shows up and gives him a pep talk that resembles more of a gloating session than anything else. Eventually Alex is given the mission, and informed that boxer Kelly Robinson will be his undercover partner. Kelly's next fight will take him within reach of Gundars (Malcolm McDowell), the man believed to be hiding and selling The Switchblade on the black market. The first meeting between Alex and Kelly doesn't go well, but soon Alex figures out an approach to get Kelly to cooperate; get him interested and involved in all the spy stuff. Part of this involvement is getting Kelly to think that Rachel is an adoring fan and then having him kidnapped. Alex uses the kidnapping as a way to make sure that Kelly will not give him up when the going gets tough. Kelly proves to be valiant and Alex and he start to fall into a groove. This groove follows them throughout the rest of the film in the form of a terrific foot and car chase where they complement each other's bravery, to a scene where they end up having a heart to heart in a sewage drain, to the place where Kelly coaches Alex on how to make the moves on Rachel. You'll never again be able to hear Marvin Gaye's "Sexual Healing" without thinking about Eddie singing it to Owen's earpiece, and Owen doing a white mans rendition to Famke. The laugher in the theater was intoxicating and deafening. It was one of those audience moments that directors dream about. These are but some of the moments that make Kelly's and Alex's relationship incredibly entertaining, and also carry the movie to the end when Kelly becomes just as good of a spy as Alex, and together they save the world.

There could have other combination of actors that might have made this movie, but I don't believe that any of them would have been as good as the teaming of Eddie and Owen. Their unique comedic styles and timing complement each other. You never feel like one is taking over the scene or that one is funnier than the other, it's perfect. So if you are looking for some belly aching laughs, and a humorous take on the over done spy story, go check this one out.