Review of The Heat (2013) by Tim A — 25 Jun 2014

The Heat is not an extremely unforgetable film. It actually gets lost between the abundance of Buddy cop comedies that exist right now. Still, while not fresh or new to the genre, it still is relentlessly funny, thanks to McCarthy and the chemistry she has with her co-lead, Sandra Bullock.

See how I almost described McCarthy as the main protagonist? Well, the truth is Bullock's Agent Ashburn is the main hero, but not-yet-burnt Melissa McCarthy steals the show. Sure, she plays the same character, but she does it so good it is impossible not to like her, yet. And I'm not saying Bullock didn't deliver. She did. But again, she is playing Miss Congeniality in another movie. There is really little difference with Miss Congeniality. Oh my god, this is VERY similar to Miss Congeniality.

I know Paul Feig directed Bridesmaids and I know Miss Congeniality sucked and that The Heat is ten times funnier (Mainly because on the second half the movie improves by pushing aside softcore buddy cop humour and takes out the big guns, buckets of blood and lots of F-bombs), but the main problem with The Heat is its lack of freshness and we see it, even in the hilarious after-credits scene.

The movie tries to go "touchy feely" also. Of course, it fails. Whenever the plot derivates from McCarthy or her bromance with Bullock, the movie tries hard into making us connect with the character and passes out on opportunities to make us laugh. Also, there is a point I think in which hey take it too far (I am talking about that Denny's scene), but it was interesting to see the movie take those risks.

"Size does matter" must be the slogan for The Heat, with its big main leads, its giant guns and 2-hour runtime, The Heat provides laughs and buckets of comedic cliches for dreamy feminists, and casual moviegoers alike.