The Spy Next Door Review & Interview with Alina Foley

 There are numerous martial artists out there in the industry, but Jackie Chan has a style that has so far yet to be matched. All of his films contain an excellent blend of humor, drama, and action. His fights are like a heavily choreographed dance, with less boring one-on-one action and more massively complicated fights with props, lots of bad guys, and a nonstop pace.

However, as a Jackie Chan film, THE SPY NEXT DOOR is not the greatest. Jackie is normally at his best when he’s taking names and kicking villain’s butts. All the stuff in the middle we don’t care about. This movie is a good example of saying “ooh!” during the fights, going “ahh!” during the action-packed stunts, and going “meh” during the rest.

Now, on to the kids! The children make up a big part of this film, since the whole point of the movie is to have Jackie win their trust so that their mom will agree to marry him. (My-kids-come-with-the-package kind of deal.) The three kids consist of Madeline Carroll as Farren, the thirteen year old “privacy is my life” kind of outcast girl that you’d expect to mouth back at everything, Will Shadley as Ian, the deadpan snarker who’s very smart, and a future ladies man and Alina Foley as Nora, the adorable little four year old who, when asked what she does for school, replies “I’m four years old!” As a family unit, they bicker and argue believably (sometimes stretched a bit too far, when Ian decides to sabotage Farren by setting off a stink bomb in his own room and blame it on her) and have about as much family camaraderie as those kids from Narnia.

Madeline Carroll plays an annoying “coming of age” teen who decides to rebel by trying to wear skirts that are too short for her. You can expect her to spout such lines like “fashion apocalypse”. Being the half-child in the family, she feels outcast and defiant. In the storyline there is growth for her, so fortunately for her she has the acting capacity to move beyond pre-teen angst and tackle bigger problems, like ‘my mom’s boyfriend is a spy and my life is in danger’. Madeline has quite an impressive TV career (NCIS, Grey’s Anatomy, Lie to me, and Lost), and seems to be heading for more films.

Will Shadley gives most of the comedy in the film (in addition to Jackie Chan.) His pokerfaced delivery is like a 10 year old Steven Wright. While young looking now, you can tell that Will is most likely going to be the next Michael Cera. Michael learned his comedic style while working on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, and you can just feel like Will is learning his comedic style here at an early age. Plus Will gets an appearance upgrade when he dons a denim jacket, slicks his hair, and lets his collar up, and finally girls start to notice him.

Alina Foley is delightful. She has all the charm of Matilda, and the cuteness of Shirley Temple. Right from the beginning she is chasing a pet pig (and later spits out bacon after hearing what bacon is made of) keeping a pet turtle, and bouncing around with childlike energy. Not only that, but some Jackie Chan stunts involve her. Because normal martial arts is fine, but martial arts with her clutched to his leg like a Klingon is funny. She has a habit of disappearing unnoticed (until Jackie uses a spy tracker to locate her via radar) but she’s definitely a scene stealer.

All three of the kid stars have potential. They held their weight even against a long time movie force like Jackie Chan. The film had its funny moments, its action-packed moments, and its tender moments. It didn’t truly shine in any of those departments, but it did offer a little bit of everything.

Review By Josh Nyer
Edited by Danielle Isitt
Photos: Lynn Esparo

Interview with THE SPY NEXT DOOR star Alina Foley

1. What was it like working with the actors in THE SPY NEXT DOOR?

 It was very fun working with Jackie and Madeline and Will. I could never have wished for better people to work with other than everybody I met on the movie. The things that made the movie fun are that we had a lot of time to play – and sometimes to work – but all of the times were fun.

2. What is a fun memory that you remember about being on set of “The Spy Next Door”

 One of the funnest memories about being on the set are when Jackie was throwing me up in the air even when we weren’t doing a scene.
 

3. Is there an actor or actress you would like to work with someday?

I’d say my mom and dad because they are both actors.