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| Courtesy of 20th Century Fox |
The
gender switch doesn’t reinvent the genre or anything, but Kate Dippold’s streamlined
screenplay gives actresses Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy constant opportunities
to deliver a barrage of one-liners. I figured This Is the End was a shoo-in
for the summer’s funniest comedy, but The Heat gives it some genuine competition.
When I got home from the theater, my stomach still hurt from laughing.
Bullock
plays Sarah Ashburn, the FBI agent who is so committed to her job and its rules
that she is despised and mocked by her colleagues. Her boss (Demian Bichir) quickly
sends her off to Boston to track down a ruthless drug lord, but it’s mostly
just to get her out of everyone’s hair. She ends up clashing with hotheaded cop
Shannon Mullins (McCarthy) almost immediately, but their adversarial
relationship eventually becomes one of mutual respect. They might have
completely different philosophies, but they’re both great at their jobs.
What
little plot exists in The Heat is there solely to facilitate the hilarious interaction
between the two leads. Bullock has already established her comedic bona fides (Miss
Congeniality), but not everyone is able to elicit laughs while playing the
straight man. Ashburn is initially so hesitant and awkward that I almost felt bad
for laughing at her. But when she comes into her own and starts going
toe-to-toe with Mullins, I was laughing for completely different reasons.
What
impressed me most about Bullock’s performance was that Feig had any usable
takes of her. I have no idea how she was able to keep a straight face in her
scenes with McCarthy, who is a Tasmanian devil of comedy. The actress, who is
rapidly becoming a household name because of her go-for-broke work in films
like Bridesmaids and Identity Thief, proves over and over again that she
will do whatever it takes to get the laugh. She’s adept at physical gags and improv,
both of which make Mullins a force to be reckoned with. McCarthy simply owns
every scene through sheer force of will.
Bullock
and McCarthy are backed by a ton of solid actors in smaller roles, including
Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Michael McDonald, Tom Wilson and the great Jane
Curtin. They each get a chance to be funny, though none of them are in the
movie long. I’m guessing there’s a longer cut of the film somewhere that features
more of their performances.
The
only aspects of The Heat that could turn off some viewers are the harsh language
and a surprisingly high body count (which weirdly doesn’t seem to bother the
characters much). Other than that, I don’t see what’s stopping the film from
becoming a monster hit. Still, I’ve stopped trying to figure out what mainstream
audiences will flock to. Just know that if you like to laugh, The Heat provides
plenty of chances to do so.
The Heat is rated
R for pervasive language, strong crude content and some violence.
Grade:
B+
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