But the Spice Girls' selling point is that they're not too scary and not too spicy — just mild fun, no more or less.
Critics have praised the movie for its combination of broad humor and a humanist message, and its ability to poke mild fun at a physical disability.
Biden's poking mild fun at his old boss, squarely locating Obama within the liberal élite, served a purpose; this isn't what being a Democrat meant here, where all people wanted was a government that looked out for working people.
Mr. Gurney pokes mild fun at Eddie's good-hearted but hopelessly smug father, Harvey Jack Gilpinn), firm in his belief that Buffalo is the natural center of the universe and his family the natural center of Buffalo.
Lee, whose posts are often uncontroversial, nonetheless had his Weibo account shut down for three days in February when he poked mild fun at a new state-run search engine; he has also had some posts censored.
(Martha Stewart and Michael Jackson both make cameo appearances that poke mild fun at their public images and are likely to provoke louder and nastier laughter than they or the filmmakers intended.) Within the trivial, ingratiating scope of its ambition, though, the sequel is pleasant enough.
