With flair and energy

I decided today was a day for a movie. I had thought about seeing Mr. Holmes but since it received only a 65 on metacritic.com, I decided it could wait until it got to the second-run theater. So I looked at what is playing at that second-run theater and Spy caught my attention. As mentioned on imdb.com, the director Paul Feig saw a James Bond movie and decided it was time to make a comedic version of Bond. The story revolves around Susan Cooper, a spy handler back at headquarters. Because things go wrong she volunteers for field work, though she isn't sure she can do it (neither does anyone else). Of course, she comes through with flying colors.

If you see it be warned there is a tiny scene after the credits.

I liked the movie. It is funny and enjoyable. The plot is convoluted enough that the various twists were were a surprise, though I knew Susan Cooper would succeed – this wasn't a tragedy. The big reason why I liked it is Susan Cooper is a woman of size. She defies society's view of fat people and does so with flair and energy. Of course, it helps she is played by Melissa McCarthy.

Even so, there were a couple things I didn't like, the big one being the over-the-top violence (as I expect is true of James Bond movies the list of stunt performers is long). The death toll is mighty high. There is almost a flippant attitude towards life. And some of the violence is too direct and gruesome. There were also brief shots of private anatomy, and that was especially bad because I think whatever it added to the plot or character definition could have been accomplished some other way. This movie definitely earned its R rating.