There’s Something Surprisingly Incredible Tucked Away In Kevin James’ ‘True Memoirs of an International Assassin’

True Memoirs of an International Assassin isn’t going to change your opinion of Kevin James.

The new Netflix film stars James as an office drone by day/writer by night whose life gets turned upside down when his fiction novel about a deadly assassin gets published as a nonfiction novel and he is (naturally) mistaken for a deadly assassin.

Hilarity, you guessed it, ensues.

If you generally enjoy Kevin James’ madcap shenanigans and didn’t instantly think “Does Google not exist in this movie?” when you read that last sentence, you will probably like this film. If you rolled your eyes with the antipathy of 1,001 Paul Blarts forced to deal with a cadre of meddlesome teens at a poorly air-conditioned food court, this movie probably won’t be your particular brand of whiskey if you’re picking up what I’m putting down. Nobody is on the fence about Kevin James. I highly doubt there’s someone out there thinking, “I’ll wait until after Paul Blart: Mall Cop 3 until I render my final verdict on the case of Me vs. Liking Kevin James.”

And if by some chance you actually are having those thoughts, you’re not even the number one Paul Blart: Mall Cop fan, buddy.

For the most part, True Memoirs of an International Assassin is exactly what you’d expect from a Kevin James comedy, but there is one small detail that made the film immensely more enjoyable: the use of Spanish-language versions of American pop songs.

After Kevin James’ character is mistaken for an international assassin known as “The Ghost,” he’s kidnapped and transported to Venezuela where he is repeatedly ordered to kill a number of people. These exchanges usually go something like this:

Sometimes Andy Garcia/Sometimes another character: I want you to kill Corrupt Person A.
Kevin James: I really don’t want to kill Corrupt Person A. 
SAG/SAC: If you kill Corrupt Person A, we will let you go home.
Kevin James: But I’m not an assassin.
SAG/SAC: Yes you are. Kill Corrupt Person A or we’ll kill you.
Kevin James: Okay.

This happens somewhere between three and fifty times.

But as Kevin James — who I must once again reiterate people believe to be an international assassin because his book was labeled as non-fiction — goes from character to character receiving orders to kill a different person like some kind of malfunctioning Rube Goldberg Assassination Machine, we’re treated to catchy Spanish-language versions of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight,” and The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go” that imbue the scenes with some much-needed verve. But music supervisor Julianne Jordan, who’s worked in the music department for films like Pitch Perfect, Sisters, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, saved the best for last.

As the film reaches its conclusion and Kevin James is about to head off into the “and he lived happily ever after” sunset, a Spanish-language version of The Outfield’s seminal ’80s classic “Your Love” begins to play. While most of the songs from the sensational soundtrack are unfortunately unavailable, this one (and Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf”) can be found online.

Enjoy!

[Watch True Memoirs of an International Assassin on Netflix]