Parents' Guide to My Spy

Scene-stealing child star Coleman outperforms Bautista in this familiar but fun tough-guy-meets-adorable-kid adventure comedy that's a direct descendant of Kindergarten Cop. Bautista, who's fabulous as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy/Avengers movies, brings a similar, somewhat awkward persona to My Spy, but he's not quite as suave or charismatic as Dwayne Johnson or Arnold Schwarzenegger, which impacts his ability to completely pull off the role. He's particularly lacking in the light romantic chemistry that's supposed to blossom between JJ and Kate (something The Rock is great at but that Schwarzenegger has similarly struggled with throughout his career).

Since the adults' romance is a secondary concern here, what really stands out is how great Coleman is with Bautista, and Schaal's performance as JJ's eager partner, Bobbi. The two actresses metaphorically carry Bautista on their shoulders. His butt-kicking, eye-squinting, feel-no-pain demeanor, after all, can only garner so many laughs. But thanks to Schaal's comic timing and Coleman's surprisingly magnetic presence, the movie is better than you'd expect. An off-putting misstep is the stereotypical depiction of Kate and Sophie's gay neighbors (one of whom is flamboyant and one of whom never speaks) and a throwaway line about whether Bobbi is a lesbian. There's also more violence and language you might expect based on marketing, etc. Still, while it's definitely formulaic, there's enough in My Spy to enjoy that it could make for a fun movie-of-the-week pick.