Heat, The (2013) [Blu-ray]
Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline: Good Cop. Mad Cop.

Oscar Winner Sandra Bullock and Oscar Nominee Melissa McCarthy team up in this outrageously funny comedy from the director of Bridesmaids, Paul Feig. Uptight FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Bullock) and foul-mouthed Boston cop Shannon Mullins (McCarthy) couldn't be more incompatible. But when they join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected...buddies.

Storyline: Sarah Ashburn, an FBI agent, is extremely ambitious and has her eye on a promotion, but she doesn't get along with her co-workers. She is sent to Boston to uncover the identity of an elusive drug lord, Mr. Larkin, by tracking down his proxy, Rojas, and is told that she'll have a good shot at the promotion if she finds Larkin. When she arrives in Boston, she learns that Larkin has been eliminating his competition and taking over their operations. She learns that Rojas is in Boston PD custody and goes to see him to ask him what he knows about Larkin, but is warned that the cop who arrested Rojas, Shannon Mullins, is very territorial, and she is not exactly sociable. When the two meet they don't get along. When Mullins learns why Ashburn is in Boston, she decides to find Larkin herself. Ashburn is told by her boss to work with Mullins, but it won't be easy because Ashburn does things by the book while Mullins does things her way. Written by rcs0411@yahoo.com

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman on October 15, 2013 -- Sandra Bullock both brought the house down and up to its feet into a standing ovation when she started off her acceptance speech for having won the Best Actress Academy Award for The Blind Side with her wonderfully self-deprecating query, "Did I really earn this, or did I just wear you all down?" Many pundits, including Variety, the so-called "Bible of showbiz", are now touting Bullock as the frontrunner for another Best Actress Oscar for her stunning work in Gravity, a virtual one woman tour de force show for much of that film's excruciating running time. But 2013 also saw Bullock take on a decidedly less ambitious role while simultaneously proving how well she plays with others, in the raucous, foul mouthed and often hilarious Paul Feig comedy The Heat. Paired with Melissa McCarthy, Feig's Oscar nominated actress from his recent Bridesmaids, Bullock in fact takes something akin to a back seat to McCarthy's over the top antics, becoming the straight woman for an unending series of insults and physical comedy aimed at her by her zaftig counterpart. First time screenwriter Katie Dippold, a veteran of television's Parks and Recreation, had decided she wanted to reinvent the "buddy cop" genre in gynocentric form, and rather surprisingly, while her script was very quickly picked up by Peter Chernin, a studio deal took some wheeling and dealing, since there was a rather dunderheaded fear that two females headlining a cop comedy wouldn't be an easy sell. McCarthy has become one of the more unlikely superstars of the past few years, and her presence, especially after her Bridesmaids triumph, may have at least whetted the appetites of the Hollywood bean counters who more often than not make the "important" decisions, but without the tamped down presence of Bullock, the fact is The Heat might have seriously run off the rails. It's the interplay between these two very different characters that generates most of the comedic—yes—heat in this film, with Bullock's by the numbers FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn repeatedly running smack dab into the force of nature of the much less structured Boston police detective Shannon Mullins, portrayed by McCarthy.

Dippold and Feig give us two introductory vignettes which quickly summarize the vast differences between the two focal women. First up is Bullock's Ashburn, who is commanding an FBI raid of some suspected drug and gun runners. Surrounded by a coterie of male agents, Ashburn quickly demonstrates in a somewhat arrogant manner just how stupid they've all been (this conclusion branching out to the drug sniffing dog accompanying the team as well). She's obviously highly efficient and well intentioned, but she also has zero people skills. McCarthy's Mullins on the other hand has people skills decidedly in the negative territory, as evidenced by her hilarious yet completely inappropriate takedown of a would be john (a fantastic cameo by Tony Hale). Mullins is an obscenity spewing ball of combustible vitriol, but she, rather like Ashburn, is obviously well intentioned if in possession of even fewer social graces than her FBI counterpart.

Ashburn, who's angling for a promotion which her boss is reticent to grant her since her colleagues all hate her guts, is sent to Boston to help bring in a drug kingpin, while at almost the same moment Mullins is collaring a smaller fish in the Boston drug network who nonetheless may have information on the ringleader whom Ashburn is after. That brings these two "oil and water" souls together, with Ashburn initially trying to just work around Mullins' violent, foul mouthed presence, but with Mullins, who actually steals a top secret FBI file to get an inside track on the investigation, not taking "no" for an answer. When Ashburn's boss indicates that her ability to work with a local policewoman might mean all the difference between getting her promotion or not, the die is cast and these two are thrust together as unwilling competitive collaborators and nemeses, attempting to ferret out who the mysterious kingpin is. The investigation ultimately involves Mullins' ex-con brother (Michael Rappaport), as well as a couple of misogynistic DEA agents (Dan Bakkedahl and Taran Killam).

Dippold has fine comedic sensibilities when it comes to character, even if the overarching plot of The Heat is only too familiar, with nary a surprise along the way. That doesn't mean the film isn't hugely enjoyable, for it certainly is. Bullock's uptight Ashburn is barely able to even swear, while McCarthy's Mullins is seemingly incapable of uttering a sentence without it being profanity laden. The two actually come to physical blows on a couple of occasions, but haltingly learn to work together (just one of too many predictable elements in the screenplay). There are some fairly lame attempts at pathos thrown in with a fairly sappy back story granted to Ashburn, and a hilariously dysfunctional family granted to Mullins (including a nice bit by Jane Curtin as the Mullins grand matriarch).

Ultimately this film succeeds due to its expert performances. McCarthy's slovenly, disheveled Mullins is a marauding cacophony of brute force, blasting her way through interviews and repeatedly humiliating Ashburn to increasing comedic effect. Bullock's Ashburn is a study in corporate-think, reciting statutes and insisting that things be done according to the field manual. The collision of these two characters is rather like a figurative train wreck which is horrifying on its face but which is so compelling it's impossible not to watch.

The Heat is undeniably funny a lot of the time, but it's also a bit too predictable for its own good. Bullock and McCarthy make a very appealing "odd couple", however, and help the film to overcome its more rote elements. This Blu-ray comes with great looking video and sounding audio, and even if most of the supplementary material is nothing other than glorified gag reels, the wealth of commentary tracks is a nice touch. Highly recommended.

[CSW] -3.6- This movie is highly entertaining. I did laugh out loud through parts of the entire film, and I can't tell you the last time that happened while watching a supposed comedy. I thought Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy made a great comic team. The big Sandra Bullock fans might not think this role and the language are right for her but I loved it. The comedic lines were great especially those from Melissa McCarthy with everyone else including Sandra Bullock playing the straight man. If you don't laugh at some of the lines your sense of humor needs retuning.
[V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


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