The Heat

Starring Sandra Bullock & Melissa McCarthy
Directed by Paul Feig
In UK Cinemas July 31st, 2013

by Joanna Orland

Paul Feig’s follow up to the hit comedy Bridesmaids is exactly what it should be – an even funnier comedy that once again brings the females to the foreground.  In The Heat, the weird and fat Bridesmaid Melissa McCarthy has been upgraded to co-star and partner as crazy cop Mullins, to Sandra Bullock’s play-by-the-rules cop Ashburn.  This is Lethal Weapon, Starsky and Hutch and Beverly Hills Cop taken over by the ladies.  It’s even written by a female – Katie Dippold, scribe of MadTV and Parks and Recreation.

All of this feminist talk aside, the film is just funny, whatever the gender of the lead characters.  McCarthy and Bullock have ridiculously good chemistry and are so much fun to watch.  McCarthy especially as she is such a talent at physical comedy.  You can tell a lot of her lines are improvised, and her comic timing is impeccable.  The vulgarity of the dialogue is almost shocking, and so vulgar that only women could get away with such explicit talk as coming from a man it would just sound misogynist and aggressive.  Coming from McCarthy it is endearing and hilarious.

The film plot is predictable and plays by the book even more than FBI agent Ashburn.  The formulaic buddy cop movie has been done to death, but these two performances and the fresh script has given it a new life.  I would happily see this become a franchise much like Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, Rush Hour, Bad Boys and the like.  In fact, The Heat is stronger than the two latter hits on this list.  And McCarthy’s Mullins makes Mel Gibson’s Riggs seem completely sane!  Hell, McCarthy’s Mullins makes Mel Gibson seem completely sane!  McCarthy, Bullock, Dippold and Feig bring THE HEAT!