There are slow passages, and sequences that lean too hard on self-pity, but there are many more moments of crazy transcendence, plus a fart joke or two.

NEWYORKER: Black and Blue

There may have been pity behind her saying yes, but there was love, too: in my experience, you can't expect love to be unaffected by pity, nor would you want it to be.

NPR: Chapter 1

In some cases that involves playing on their pity -- and on ours, too, as the filmmakers imply that her weight is a symptom of her unhappy life.

CNN: Review: Melissa McCarthy steals 'Identity Thief'