The Heat
★★★☆☆
Ever since Judd Apatow, Kristen Wiig and Paul Fieg made Melissa McCarthy a moviestar in 2011’s Bridesmaids, it has seemed that she’s destined to carve out her own personal sub-genre in the next couple of decades: the over-the-top-foul-mouthed-Melissa-McCarthy-comedy, just as Sandra Bullock created the sexy-self-deprecating-girl-next-door-Sandra-Bullock-romantic-comedy in the last twenty years. McCarthy’s first starring vehicle, Identity Thief, came and went this year too quickly for me to catch it, but The Heat, a buddy cop movie that pairs her with Bullock, is doing very well with audiences and it gets a positive rating from me as well. It’s no 48 Hours, but there are some big laughs in this picture (far more than in Bridesmaids) and the two leading ladies breathe some much needed female energy into a genre that has reeked of stale testosterone far too long. Unfortunately the story is contrived and the supporting cast is mostly wasted. I was really excited when I saw Jane Curtin was playing McCarthy’s mother, but we never actually get to see Jane Curtin play McCarthy’s mother--as I think she has only four lines in the whole movie! While The Heat doesn’t live up to the legacy of 80s buddy pictures like Midnight Run, Lethal Weapon or Trading Places or 9 to 5, it’s a decent summer popcorn movie.
Directed by Paul Feig
Produced by Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping

Written by Katie Dippold and Nathan Corddry

With: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Jane Curtin, Spoken Reasons, Dan Bakkedahl, Taran Killam, Michael McDonald, Thomas F. Wilson, Tony V., Bill Burr, Michael Tucci, Joey McIntyre, Jessica Chaffin, Kaitlin Olson, and Paul Feig

Cinematography: Robert D. Yeoman
Editing: Jay Deuby and Brent White
Music: Michael Andrews

Runtime: 117 min
Release Date: 28 June 2013
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color