It was a scene out of a 1980s action movie: a spy balloon floating over Montana.

The Biden Administration’s tepid response to the Chinese aggravators, however, is very much on-point for 2023 Hollywood – bending to Chinese desires and not wanting to cause offense.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told his Chinese counterpart the balloon was “unacceptable” and cancelled his trip to Beijing. The Chinese tried to play it all down, saying “the balloon was for civilian research and had ‘deviated far from its planned course.’”

All this is serious business but it’s hard not to have a laugh. At what point is a Chinese surveillance balloon funny?