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The Heat Review
by Robert Hass 
6.7/10
The plot may be formulaic, but The Heat is still a constantly funny and thoroughly entertaining comedy with great chemistry from its leads, and a hell of a side-splitting performance from McCarthy. See it.
The story: This buddy cop tale is like most of the others you have seen. Mismatched partners, drug-smuggling baddies, witty banter, and a little dose of explosions. Except there's one twist; these coppers are gals, and boy do they make a show. New York based FBI agent Sarah Ashburn (Bullock) is diligent but high-strung. Most of her bureau hates her even if she gets the job done, and this in turn makes her lonely. Hell, the only person she lives with is her neighbor's cat. While working on a developing drug case, she is sent to Boston to further investigate. Things get hairy when her case is intercepted by street born, foul mouthed, and hilariously vulgar cop Shannon Mullins (McCarthy), and they find themselves having to settle their differences and work together to solve the case. And behold we get guns, booze, profanity, blood, and glorious hilarity.
The good: This movie is pretty damn hysterical. The leads work off of each other really well humorously and Bullock has her funny moments, but McCarthy steals the show. She is a comedic tour-de-force in this film and never fails to provide outrageous and raunchy laughs. You've seen the structure of the screenplay before, but a lot of the writing plus the added improv is highly witty while being crude throughout. It has many great moments of humor, and most of the cast get their moment to shine in their own racy way. The strong chemistry between McCarthy and Bullock really does work and makes going through the usual numbers of these buddy cop films still enjoyable. The action, while brief, is fun, and the cast puts a wonderful comical spin to some of the cliched aspects we've come to expect. The characters are like-able and develop nicely over the course of the story, which I'm glad they touched on. There also is a bit of a pleasant, sometimes emotional depth to the film that comes in every once in a while with the characters, but never becomes out of place and fits just right between the gags. It's also great to see Bullock back as she proves that she's still got most of the chops as a star.
The bad: The only aspects I can really complain about are the story's predictability and formulaic nature, and how it takes a tiny bit for the plot to pick up some steam. Nothing too terrible though.
My take: If you are looking for some solid laughs and a good time, watch The Heat, I feel like you won't be disappointed. And prepare yourself for McCarthy, she is a force to be reckoned with.
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In Theaters
V/H/S 2 (rental and in theaters) 4.8/10 The Heat 6.7/10 White House Down 3.2/10 Redemption (rental and in theaters) 5.0/10 Monsters University 8.3/10 World War Z 7.4/10 Man of Steel 6.4/10 Fast and Furious 6 6.6/10 The Great Gatsby 4.9/10 Iron Man 3 8.6/10 On DVD/Rental
(New!) Dead Man Down 6.5/10 (New!) Europa Report (rental and in theaters 8/2) 6.4/10 (New!) Spring Breakers 5.3/10 Redemption (On rental and in theaters) 5.0/10 GI: Joe Retaliation (available 7/30) 3.4/10 V/H/S 2 (rental and in theaters) 4.8/10 Oz: The Great and Powerful 4.9/10 The Last Stand 4.8/10 Side Effects 7.3/10 The BlogThe goal for this blog is for me to deliver more direct movie summaries that skip more of the fluff and deliver the goods. The story, the good, the bad, and my overall take on it. For those of you who just want to know if you should see it or not, read the ratings and headlines of the films. Click read more if you want to see the details about the reviews.
About me
My name is Robert, but friends call me Vern. I'm a proud cinefile (not as creepy as it sounds...) I write, direct and edit movies. When I'm not doing that, I'm watching movies -- as many as I can -- and reviewing them here for you. I've found that my tastes are unpredictable; conventional to bizarre, formulaic to abstract, old-school to ahead of the curve. I've seen enough to have perspective but am still young enough to need a lift to the theater. Let me know what you think.
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