The Heat

My Grade:  A

I didn’t like Bridesmaids as much as a comedy as I did as a drama... and I didn’t really even like it as a drama. But I went to see The Heat anyway (it’s directed by Paul Feig of Bridesmaids) and I am very happy I did. I don’t really care that other critics have called it predictable, boring, too long, or disjointed because I was laughing consistently and that’s all that matters in a comedy film. Because ultimately, who cares what the case that they are trying to solve is? I was a criminal justice major in college and I don’t care. I just want to laugh and The Heat certainly serves up plenty of opportunities to do just that.

I seldom expect well-rounded characters in a comedy film like this, but Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) and Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) are surprisingly not the most two dimensional characters I’ve ever seen. Yes, they are a bit cliche, but there’s some solid character development in there that allows us to get to know these characters more so than just recognizing their archetypes. So kudos to Feig and even the first time screenwriter Katie Dippold (MADtv) for giving us a little more than just a couple of cliche characters being funny for 2 hours. They were even able to give the story a little bit of a heartbeat... emotional core... whatever you want to call touching stuff in a film. I didn’t cry, but I was touched.

The reason this film really works, though, is because Bullock and McCarthy are a perfect comedic pair; mostly because they are such polar opposites. It’s the same idea as pairing the brash, raucous McCarthy with the straight laced Jason Bateman in Identity Thief earlier this year but The Heat works much better. These two women are simply a match made in comedy heaven (which I’m not sure anyone expected).

Ultimately I don’t see The Heat being up for awards like Feig’s last effort, but at least this film knows what it is and delivers exactly what it’s supposed to deliver:  tons of laughs. This isn’t a film that will be remembered for years to come or go down in the history books as a classic, but it’s still nice to see an original film thoroughly entertain AND make money at the box office. Of course, they have already announced a sequel which I’m not exactly thrilled about; however, it may be worth watching McCarthy and Bullock pair up again to bring “the heat.”