I ever had any intention of watching this film but decided to after my oldest daughter convinced me to give it a try. After all, Melissa McCarthy has made a few films that just irritated me and I was not in the mood for more of the same. Fortunately, while the film is far from perfect, it surprised me and McCarthy didn't play just another buffoon.
When the film begins, a super agent for the CIA (Jude Law) is in the middle of an important mission while his assistant, Susan (McCarthy), stays back at the base, as usual, watching and assisting him. He's somehow hooked up to some sort of closed circuit television and much of the success of his missions seems to be the result of Susan's very quick thinking. However, this one does NOT go well and the agency is soon having a funeral for the guy....and the nuclear weapon they were trying to recover is still out there. And, the woman who has it seems more than willing to sell it to the highest bidder. However, they can't just send in agents to get her and the weapon, as the vicious lady with the bomb knows the identities of all of the field agents...so they need someone unknown to find her. And, since Susan is unknown outside the CIA, she might just be able to do the mission...though the folks at the agency certainly have their doubts.
In many ways I liked this film. Much of it was because of Susan. She was NOT a typical character. Sure, she had a few dopey moments but McCarthy was not playing yet another stereotypical 'fat broad'. Instead, she was often extremely clever, resourceful and even, dare I say, macho! I actually would mind seeing a sequel with this inexperienced but competent agent. I also liked some of the characters--particularly Susan's assistant as well as the crazy bald agent and the Italian guy. See the film and you'll see what I mean.
Unfortunately, the film did have a few problems. Too often, while generally a very intelligent film, it also too often took the low road with ample jokes about feces, hemorrhoids, vomit and incredibly crude language. With less of this and more of the super agent stuff, you'd have had a much better film...though, on balance, it's still well worth your time.
