June 29, 2013

 

The Heat was not only funny, it was much funnier than I expected. A straight-laced Sandra Bullock works fantastic with funny foul-mouthed Melissa McCarthy.

 

FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Bullock) is good at her job, no excellent at her job, but in the process she has no friends and is hated by her co-workers. Meanwhile, Boston detective Shannon Mullins (McCarthy) is also excellent at her job, but has a unique way of carrying out her missions. In fact, she’s so good, she put her brother behind bars for drug dealing.

 

Ashburn is sent to Boston to investigate a deadly drug ring and try to take down a Russian mobster. During an interrogation of a man found with drugs, Ashburn feels the wrath of Mullins. Much to her dismay, Ashburn must comply with her boss and make nice with Mullins in order to put her in line for a promotion. So the two pair up and in the process make things worse in the investigation, not only for them but for the DEA probe as well.

 

Things take a serious turn when Mullins’ family is put in jeopardy and her brother (Michael Rappaport), recently out of prison, is attacked and in a coma when he tries to infiltrate the drug ring. However, as in most buddy comedies, just when things get serious and start to fall apart, Ashburn, goes against everything she’s known, and comes to the rescue of Mullins. The pair joins forces again to not only keep her family safe, but take down the drug lord.

 

Despite the slight serious tone the film takes, the audience was laughing throughout the entire film. Though the bar scene, which I think was talked about the most before the film came out, was quite funny. I think the club scene, where the girls try to get a drug dealers phone to bug, is much more funny. Between the bathroom scene where Mullins tries to make Ashburn cool and then Mullins trying to clear the floor for Ashburn to dance her way over to the dealer, I couldn’t stop laughing until the girls got kicked out.

 

Though some may call this a feminist film, with a lot of pro-female jokes, I honestly think it appeals to everyone, male or female. The few males who saw the film have said it was much funnier than they thought it would be. And since seeing it, I’ve quoted McCarthy’s character several times. And the mouth on her! But I think that’s what makes it funny. Bullock plays her typical straight-man character, but it works well. And in typical McCarthy fashion, her husband Ben Falcone makes an appearance as one of Mullins’ sexual conquests. Also look for a cameo by New Kid on the Block member Joey McIntyre as one of Mullins’ brothers with a horrible Boston accent.