The Heat ****
Sandra Bullock as another uptight FBI agent sounds suspiciously like a Gracie Hart rendition from the Miss Congeniality films. True, she dons another dark suit and comfy shoes for her new role as social pariah Sarah Ashburn. What’s of greater interest is whether the on-screen chemistry between her and Bridemaids star Melissa McCarthy pays off, what with two big personalities at play. The answer is extremely well and highly entertaining as they feed of each other’s character’s quirky points. It’s all done with a 70s good/bad cop flair to it (queue the titles), proving again how uncompromising and seriously funny female comedians can be and how accessible to any audience.
Ashburn is so good in her FBI role, she arrogantly thinks she’s in line for promotion, but her social skills leave a lot to be desired. Her boss sends her to the tough streets of Boston to track down a drug lord. The trouble is, she has to work with Boston’s finest – and baddest – female cop, Sharon Mullins (McCarthy). Ashburn is about to experience a completely off-the-record and personal way of cleaning the streets of perps.
Unlike Miss Congeniality this isn’t a chick flick. The world of female-cast comedies – Bridesmaids included, which was directed by Paul Feig who directed this – is changing the landscape forever, smartly revelling in ladette behaviour and coarse retorts. But the ‘girls behaving badly’ routine in The Heat is done with a lot of heart and raw emotion that it balances out any offending vulgarity some might feel. In fact, the exchanges between the leads are both laugh-out-loud hilarious and painfully ironic. It’s the kind of film that pivots on a strong comic pairing or would have fallen flat, especially as the plot is a carbon copy of many a cop drama.
It’s actually McCarthy’s time to shine, with Bullock effortlessly providing her notorious uptight and prissy screen stance for McCarthy to play off and with – Bullock stepping back from the limelight to play the straighter role. The duo also marries well as both play up characters with alarming personality traits that enhance rather than muddy the comedy value. The bar scene is an absolute tonic to watch as McCarthy and Bullock are left by Feig to improvise. Even McCarthy’s brash-handed response to everything as Mullins never gets tiresome and is beautifully timed to show once again how she’s top of her game at the moment for delivering shocks and giggles simultaneously.
Admittedly, The Heat is predictable in outcome – there’s nothing new trialled here – but it’s the riotous interim to that end that’s deliciously funny to watch unfold and done with such comedic skill that there’s no surprise a sequel is on the cards.
4/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
