Plot: Uptight, straightedge FBI agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) plays by the rules and dreams of promotion. The problem is her co-workers despise her and her boss Hale (Demian Bichir) isn't convinced of her suitability for the new position. In an attempt to have her prove herself worthy, Hale assigns her to a case in Boston alongside loose cannon detective Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy). Despite having nothing in common and personalities that are polar opposites, the two must work together to bring down a notorious drug dealer and murderer.
Review: I must be one of the few people who wasn't a fan of Bridesmaids. I just thought it was very overrated and aside from a few instances, not very funny. I wasn't expecting much from director Paul Feig's followup. Throw in the fact that I loathe Sandra Bullock as an actress (don't get me started on her Oscar for The Blind Side) and my expectations were virtually nil.
Fortunately I was pleasantly surprised.
The Heat is a consistently funny film with some fantastic dialogue and surprisingly good action sequences. It is the female equivalent of Lethal Weapon with Bullock in the Murtaugh role and McCarthy squarely ensconced in the Riggs role. Their byplay and chemistry is a sight to see, although McCarthy gets the lion's share of the good lines. The part where Bullock tried to speak Bulgarian to someone and McCarthy said, "Move over Rosetta Stone!" cracked me the hell up.
Great comedies come down to great writing and screenplay writer Katie Dippold deliver in spades. Whether it's McCarthy chasing down a family man trying to solicit a prostitute or the Sarah and Shannon letting their hair down at the local watering hole, The Heat rarely fails to induce laughter. Oh and spoiler alert: McCarthy's extended family is hysterical. Just think of your stereotypical Irish Boston family and then multiply it by a billion. The accents, the obsession with Boston sports, the frequent use of "wicked awesome" and the f-bomb--it's all there. Whenever Mullins' family is involved hilarity follows. My only complaint would be that SNL veteran Jane Curtain hardly features at all as Mullins' mother. Not sure if her role was reduced in the film or if Dippold just didn't give her enough juicy material.
If the script suffers anywhere it's that Ashburn and Mullins are very stereotypical characters. I mean come on. The loose cannon detective paired with the straight edge, by-the-book FBI agent? Tell me if you've heard this story before. And believe me there are points where Mullins and Ashburn's character traits are over the top. Yet in spite of all that, Bullock and McCarthy manage to create a depth to their characters despite what little they are given to work with. Ashburn is desperately lonely though she doesn't want to admit it. (She takes solace in a cat that isn't even hers!) Meanwhile, Mullins is ostracized from here family for helping put her brother away, and lashes out by abusing everyone from ex-lovers to her terrified captain Captain Woods (Thomas F. Wilson). That's right people, Biff Tannen makes an appearance! Where ya been Tommy?
Feig for the most part keeps the pacing tight and steady and the film rarely lags. Action sequences are what you'd expect from a Hollywood action comedy--intense, over the top, and slightly predictable. Aside from a few minor sequences that were implausible (A detective is really going to try to interrogate a suspect by playing Russian roulette with his nuts? Please) most of the film comes across realistic.
At the end of the day though, action-comedies aren't about realism, they're about laughs. And The Heat contains as many laughs as it does bullets.
My rating: 8/10
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