Parents' Guide to Masterminds

A brilliantly funny cast sinks its teeth into fresh dialogue and hysterical visual gags in this heist film, which doesn't take viewers anywhere they haven't been before but is still a lot of fun. Galifianakis has a ball as the awkward, longing, goofy-haired Ghantt, who's caught up in a crime he never would have committed if he didn't want to make out with his cute coworker so much. The film's funniest moments are montages of David gamely trying to go along with what other characters want. He takes a series of bizarre engagement photos with Jandice, then tries to bond with McKinney via beach walks and water sports. It's a relief that David's lovable (if imperfect) character doesn't end up dead, which would darken the proceedings considerably, and that (almost) everyone eventually winds up getting his or her just desserts.

In fact, Masterminds is almost perfect -- except for a few uncomfortably sexist moments and jokes, like when Jones' Agent Scanlon is mocked for her robust physique. In one scene, she's told she looks like she plays for the WNBA, and in another, she's mistaken for a man. The audience is clearly expected to laugh at these jokes, but not everyone will. Plus, Kelly is a "temptress" type we've all seen before -- a "bad" woman who convinces a "good" man to do her evil bidding. Wiig is charming enough to make Kelly likable even though she gets a lot less to do than the guys. But the camera's insistence on ogling her body -- and the implication that she redeems herself by falling in love with David in the end despite not finding him physically attractive -- may make some viewers uncomfortable. The movie is still a barrel of laughs, but it'd be a comedy classic if it was more sympathetic to its female characters.