Viewed in
2014
Formats
HDTV
Premise
Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy star as mismatched cops forced to work together.
Loved
Comedic chemistry between the two leads.
Disliked
Cliched plots, uncomfortable use of violence.
Thoughts
This movie was simply fueled with laughs generated by applying McCarthy's over-the-top Oscar to Bullock's flustered Felix. Both actresses brought their A-game, elevating each other and the film itself. As a big fan of Bullock, it was fun to hear her character devolve into f-bombs as her tactless partner wore her down.
I was also amused that the family scenes with McCarthy's annoyingly-caricatured New England relatives were like anti-While You Were Sleeping scenes. And as a fan of bad puns, I highly approved of the facepalm-worthy "tongue-in-cheek" joke.
Of course, underneath the veneer of comedy, it was very much an average story, with too many indistinguishable bad guys to keep track of, and obligatory buddy-cop tropes of moles, "you're off the case", and partners de-partnering.
Another aspect I didn't like was the inconsistent tone of violence. I had a hard time grasping whether I should be laughing or not during these scenes. One moment, you had cartoony silliness like accidentally dropping a perp out of a three-story building, but one second later, you had non-cartoony gunfights with explicit bullets to the head, blood sprays, and neck-stabbing. Just pick one style and stick with that.
The Heat was silly, energetic fun, solely from Bullock and McCarthy throwing comedy fastballs. If you like either actress, or better yet you like both, you'll forgive the movie's predictability and have a hoot.
