An uninhibited, hilarious and oddly moving film

Rating: 8/10 (20 July 2014)

Well, what a prudish lot some of these reviewers are! Gloriously uninhibited, consistently hilarious, splendidly tasteless (the staid Financial Times strongly recommended it as "rude" and funny), beautifully acted by the entire talented cast but especially by the leading lady and her copper boyfriend, and often oddly moving. Kristen Wiig has a rare cinematic gift for conveying scepticism, disgust, secret amusement or plain healthy lust with the twitch of an eyebrow, the merest roll of the eyes or the curl of a lip -- acting that would be lost on the theatre stage but is a constant joy on the silver screen, and which contrasts effectively with the extremely well choreographed slapstick scenes. Melissa McCarthy, playing the, er, well-built Megan, initially invites us to dismiss her character as an embarrassing slob and then skilfully brings us round to understand the brave fighter and lonely young woman within: a memorable and courageous performance.
Admittedly not a movie for the easily shocked, but everyone else needs to loosen up a little, sit back, and enjoy it. I didn't want it to finish.