Review of Operation Corned Beef

There's no shortage of spy comedies; in fact the whole genre of spy movies (even serious ones) is constantly in danger of slipping into spoof territory. So, making a spy comedy that's "different" or refreshing in any way is not easy - yet "Operation Corned Beef" succeeds, It does so by going a different route - here, we have no silly technical gadgets, we don't have a megalomanic villain, we have neither an army of martial arts experts nor nubile young women - the comedy centers on the simple fact that even agents have a private life, and from there on hilarity ensues. While all proceedings seem rather by-the-book, the intrusion of everyday life makes even simple tasks like bugging a conversation or removing a bystander from an important scene a sysiphosian task. Highly recommended!