The Heat

The Heat

Director: Paul Feig

Genre: Comedy

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans

Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

Release Date: June 28, 2013

My Rating: 7.5/10

Action comedies (cop-duo comedies specifically) have recently become an increasingly frequent genre. A number of movies have been released in the last few years that fall under this category: The Rush Hour film series, Hot Fuzz (2007), The Other Guys (2010), and 21 Jump Street (2012), just to name a few. The Other Guys is the only one of these that I have seen -and thus unfortunately the only comedy I could compare this film to- and although I found it funny, it did not make me laugh nearly as hard as or positively surprise me as much as The Heat did.

Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) directs this hilarious action comedy that stars Sandra Bullock as old-fashioned, tense FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn who is transferred from her field office in New York to Boston to investigate and hunt down a ruthless drug lord known as Larkin. There, she quickly becomes paired up with local BPD Officer Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), a tough and foul-mouthed cop who is determined to solve the case by any means necessary. Despite their enormous personality differences, the two women work together to bring the drug lord to justice and eventually become the unlikeliest of friends.

Like many similar modern comedies, this film is rampant with crude and sexual humor, cursing, comic violence, one-liners, and awkward situations. Unlike many similar movies, it seemed to have a slightly more thought-out and developed plot (for a comedy, that is), developed protagonists, and a handful of genuine, semi-serious moments, many of which are of course rapidly ended with a funny/snarky comment. Oh and more blood than you would expect, too. Melissa McCarthy is the heart and soul of the film, delivering many if not all of her lines perfectly with both a tone and an expression that make it almost impossible for one not to laugh hysterically. She brings a humor to the screen that will make you laugh at her character as much as Megan from Bridesmaids, if not more since she has a lead role. Sandra Bullock provides an excellent role as a lovable, genuine, and well-intentioned agent who recalls her previous characters such as Gracie Hart from Miss Congeniality (2000).  

However, the film is rather predictable in a certain sense. It also feels a touch too long for a comedy, with a two-hour running time: some scenes probably could have been omitted entirely, as they seemed unnecessary because they either detracted from the main storyline, or because they were almost identical to other more important scenes. Nonetheless, this comedy proves to be a true success. I can't blame anyone who isn't willing to spend $11 (or whatever it is) to go see this in theaters -because it does not have any special effects or major action sequences like those in sci-fi movies- but it is definitely worth seeing on DVD at home on a rainy evening.