Mission: Fun

July 31, 2023

Everyone has contradictions, and people who know me would agree that one of my oddest idiosyncrasies is my interest in anything “spy.”  Books and movies with complex secrets and large conspiracies fascinate me.  Masks, personas, and shifting identities bring out the therapist in me.  But more than anything, I think my alter-ego is a spy.  Maybe in another life, I lived a life of risk, adventure, and intrigue.

An even weirder anomaly is my soft spot for Tom Cruise – the Scientologist who railed against the validity of mental health and psychiatric medications, and personally excoriated Brooke Shields for taking medication when suffering from postpartum depression.  Yeah, that guy.  I find him…charming? Endearing?  (I don’t even understand it myself).

It’s with this in mind that I wrap up my Summer Movie Blog Series with some random thoughts on Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I.

First the negatives: the cast grievously lacks racial and ethnic diversity – with very few actors of color.  The women all look the same, with maddeningly undeveloped characters.  And even though the women are formidable, they’re always being rescued by the men.  Sigh.

But the movie has edge of your seat suspense.  It’s fun.  And funny.  There’s a car chase scene in Rome with Cruise and Hayley Atwell handcuffed together, in a mini yellow Fiat (which looks like a remote-controlled toy car), being hounded by dozens of vehicles.  And the scenery and filming are mesmerizing – even the fight scenes are elegantly choreographed.

There are some mildly interesting gender dynamics.  Cruise doesn’t mind making himself look ridiculous.  He satirically can’t figure out how to start the Fiat.  The contrast between him driving the tiny Fiat and actress Pom Klementieff driving a tank is a clever reversal of stereotypes.  And Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames aren’t typical action heroes – they’re more intellectual and quirky.  

The larger themes about reality, truth, false identities, people living as “ghosts,” misinformation, and who controls our narratives couldn’t be more relevant.  On the day I saw the movie, I read an article about Starlink, owned and run by Elon Musk, who now controls much of the world’s internet availability, has deeply influenced the war in Ukraine, and has so much power that militaries and governments, including the United States, are concerned.

But let’s not get too deep about Tom Cruise and Mission: Impossible. 

With everything so grave in the world right now, it can be hard to have fun.  It can be hard to prioritize fun, or to feel like it’s even possible to have fun.  

But fun is as necessary for mental health as self-reflection and mindfulness.  Fun relieves pressure, depression, and anxiety.  It connects us to others.  Fun can be created at any time, but summer is particularly associated with fun. 

For those going back to school, it might feel like summer is coming to an end.  But there’s still time.  Whether you see a movie, go to an amusement park, or sit in a park and play a game.  Whether you access your alter ego and do something completely out of character.

Fun shouldn’t be easily dismissed.  It’s seriously good for your mental health.