Spy Hard

When the sinister General Rancor moves to grab a crucial computer chip that will let him fire a doomsday missile, the fate of the world lands on the shoulders of Dick Steele, codename Agent WD-40. Steele is a spoof of the flawless spy archetype, a man who mixes macho bravado with absurd luck. To stop Rancor and rescue several hostages, Steele pairs with Veronique Ukrinsky, a KGB agent whose father helped design the targeted circuit. The pair follow a trail of deadpan gags, ridiculous set pieces and slapstick encounters as they close in on Rancor's hidden base, racing against time to shut down the missile and free the captives without any of the usual spy movie solemnity.

Directed by Rick Friedberg, Spy Hard arrived in theaters in 1996. The screenplay was created by Aaron Seltzer, Jason Friedberg and Dick Chudnow, and the film is anchored by Leslie Nielsen with Nicollette Sheridan, Charles Durning and Marcia Gay Harden.

The movie's commercial reception was moderate on release, finding an audience among fans of broad comedy and spoof films even as it didn't dominate award season or mainstream box office headlines.

Leslie Nielsen's deadpan turn as Dick Steele cemented his reputation as a go-to parody lead, and the film's exaggerated takes on spy tropes fed into 1990s spoof culture. Several visual gags and the film's tone showed up in later television and film spoofs, keeping its moments in circulation among fans of genre parody.

Critical response leaned mixed to negative while many viewers enjoyed the film's sillier elements, reflected in an average vote around 5.4 out of 10 from audience ratings. Humor rests on sight gags, absurd setups and lampooning familiar espionage clichés, so viewers who like broad, self-aware mockery and Nielsen's style are likely to get more from it than those hoping for subtle satire.