"The Heat" - directed by Paul Feig
I put a lot of faith in directors.
Maybe more than I should.
There is much debate about 'auteur theory' - the idea (a French one) that the director is truly the author of the film.
This theory would have us believe that the director controls the film so tightly and so completely that the end products success or failure rests solely on his or her head.
Clint Eastwood isn't a believer - he always uses "directed by Clint Eastwood' rather than the more grandiose 'A Film By Clint Eastwood' because he maintains that movies are a group effort.
Movies succeed or fail for many reasons and thanks to the efforts of many people.
Perhaps I should take a leaf out of Clint's book because when I was invited to a group session of "The Heat" I figured that it was a perfectly fine choice because it was from the director of "Bridesmaids" - Paul Feig.
I didn't think much of the trailers and the pairing of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy seemed like it had arisen more from a studio brainstorming session rather than any script driven necessity.
Bullock has an Oscar under her belt and McCarthy has a proven track record of comedy hits playing the same abrasive character.
If there is any truth at all to Auteur Theory then I have a bone to pick with Paul Feig because this is a pretty dismal effort.
There is an idea for a good movie in here and the raw materials are there but the end result falls far short of even my diminished expectations.
Melissa McCarthy is a real talent.
Anyone who has seen the sharply written tv show "The Gilmore Girls" knows this.
She is capable of portraying a wide spectrum of characters from the meek and mild to the loud and abrasive.
It concerns me that she is really only being allowed to play the latter these days.
It is ironic given that her increased public profile that was driven by the film "Bridesmaids" in which she played a character who was only loud and abrasive on the surface.
It was the depth that she found and portrayed that garnered her the Oscar nomination.
And her reward seems to be an endless stream of one dimensional carbon copies of the most base aspects of that role.
The weak "Identity Theft" is a case in point.
She seems to be headed the route of Adam Sandler in constantly playing the same character over and over.
And so now we find her in "The Heat" again playing a Boston cop who is rough, loud and abrasive and completely un-funny.
It started well enough that I had hopes for this film.
The opening credits use a style similar to the great action and/or cop flicks of the seventies.
"Shaft", "Driver", "Dirty Harry"... greats like that.
The colour, the fonts, music and the editing with split screen views are nicely applied to give the movies opening credits a great style.
But they are very quickly over and all of that style (and most of my hope) disappeared.
"The Heat" becomes a very dull buddy flick that barely raises a giggle.
You can feel Bullock and McCarthy trying their damnedest to make the material work but the odds are stacked well against them.
It baffles me that this movie made as much money as it did.
I can only assume that the leads provided all of the draw needed to get people into cinemas.
Certainly it feels like the filmmakers were relying on that.
The script certainly wasn't going to help.
What little plot there is is very thin and lacking in interest.
It manages at least to hurriedly get Bullock's FBI Agent and McCarthy's gritty street cop together with a common goal.
The usual set up for this kind of movie is used and the leads hate each other to begin with.
They are different.
Opposites.
Think "48 Hours", "Alien Nation", "Beverly Hills Cop" - just don't expect anything remotely as good.
The journey from antagonism to friendship is poorly handled and there is little of substance to suggest that the two women have bonded to the degree that they need to on order for Bullock's character to passionately defend McCarthy's as the best cop in the world and a fine, fine human being.
These actresses can do this stuff in their sleep and if they are wasted at least they come off better than those around them.
What a waste of poor old Tom Wilson.
Most famous as Biff in the "Back To the Future" movies you can't help but think this is something of a comeback for him.
He is underused in the extreme with only enough time to hint at how much better he is than this.
Worse off is Demian Bichir the wonderfully talented Mexican star of films such as "Che", "Savages" and "A Better Life".
His character seems to be being positioned for a more prominent part in the movie but no- he is not.
He is just a damned good actor in a poorly written movie that should be marked 'Exhibit A' when he sues his agent for mismanagement.
Even reliably funny comedic actors Tony Hale ("Arrested Development", "Stranger Than Fiction") and Jane Curtin ("Third Rock From the Sun", "Coneheads") cannot raise so much as a smile.
And it hurts me to see Dick Richie himself- Michael Rappaport shunted aside in the thankless role of McCarthy's criminal Brother.
"True Romance" seems a long, long time ago.
Marlon Wayans who can be grating in the extreme looks like he deserves better.
Perhaps I have been to hard on him because in fact I quite liked his performance.
A few fortunate casting decisions aside there is not much to enjoy here and the box office success is really puzzling.
In fact it did well enough that a sequel has been announced.
I honestly thought that this movie would be an amusing diversion with a few good laughs.
I was amazed to find myself half way into before the first laugh happened and there were very few to follow.
An amazingly unfunny dud.
Maybe more than I should.
There is much debate about 'auteur theory' - the idea (a French one) that the director is truly the author of the film.
This theory would have us believe that the director controls the film so tightly and so completely that the end products success or failure rests solely on his or her head.
Clint Eastwood isn't a believer - he always uses "directed by Clint Eastwood' rather than the more grandiose 'A Film By Clint Eastwood' because he maintains that movies are a group effort.
Movies succeed or fail for many reasons and thanks to the efforts of many people.
Perhaps I should take a leaf out of Clint's book because when I was invited to a group session of "The Heat" I figured that it was a perfectly fine choice because it was from the director of "Bridesmaids" - Paul Feig.
I didn't think much of the trailers and the pairing of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy seemed like it had arisen more from a studio brainstorming session rather than any script driven necessity.
Bullock has an Oscar under her belt and McCarthy has a proven track record of comedy hits playing the same abrasive character.
If there is any truth at all to Auteur Theory then I have a bone to pick with Paul Feig because this is a pretty dismal effort.
There is an idea for a good movie in here and the raw materials are there but the end result falls far short of even my diminished expectations.
Anyone who has seen the sharply written tv show "The Gilmore Girls" knows this.
She is capable of portraying a wide spectrum of characters from the meek and mild to the loud and abrasive.
It concerns me that she is really only being allowed to play the latter these days.
It is ironic given that her increased public profile that was driven by the film "Bridesmaids" in which she played a character who was only loud and abrasive on the surface.
It was the depth that she found and portrayed that garnered her the Oscar nomination.
And her reward seems to be an endless stream of one dimensional carbon copies of the most base aspects of that role.
The weak "Identity Theft" is a case in point.
She seems to be headed the route of Adam Sandler in constantly playing the same character over and over.
And so now we find her in "The Heat" again playing a Boston cop who is rough, loud and abrasive and completely un-funny.
 |
| Tony Hale - one of many talented comedic actors who are totally wasted in this film |
The opening credits use a style similar to the great action and/or cop flicks of the seventies.
"Shaft", "Driver", "Dirty Harry"... greats like that.
The colour, the fonts, music and the editing with split screen views are nicely applied to give the movies opening credits a great style.
But they are very quickly over and all of that style (and most of my hope) disappeared.
"The Heat" becomes a very dull buddy flick that barely raises a giggle.
You can feel Bullock and McCarthy trying their damnedest to make the material work but the odds are stacked well against them.
It baffles me that this movie made as much money as it did.
I can only assume that the leads provided all of the draw needed to get people into cinemas.
Certainly it feels like the filmmakers were relying on that.
The script certainly wasn't going to help.
 |
| Tom Wilson |
It manages at least to hurriedly get Bullock's FBI Agent and McCarthy's gritty street cop together with a common goal.
The usual set up for this kind of movie is used and the leads hate each other to begin with.
They are different.
Opposites.
Think "48 Hours", "Alien Nation", "Beverly Hills Cop" - just don't expect anything remotely as good.
The journey from antagonism to friendship is poorly handled and there is little of substance to suggest that the two women have bonded to the degree that they need to on order for Bullock's character to passionately defend McCarthy's as the best cop in the world and a fine, fine human being.
These actresses can do this stuff in their sleep and if they are wasted at least they come off better than those around them.
What a waste of poor old Tom Wilson.
Most famous as Biff in the "Back To the Future" movies you can't help but think this is something of a comeback for him.
He is underused in the extreme with only enough time to hint at how much better he is than this.
Worse off is Demian Bichir the wonderfully talented Mexican star of films such as "Che", "Savages" and "A Better Life".
 |
| Marlon Wayans |
He is just a damned good actor in a poorly written movie that should be marked 'Exhibit A' when he sues his agent for mismanagement.
Even reliably funny comedic actors Tony Hale ("Arrested Development", "Stranger Than Fiction") and Jane Curtin ("Third Rock From the Sun", "Coneheads") cannot raise so much as a smile.
And it hurts me to see Dick Richie himself- Michael Rappaport shunted aside in the thankless role of McCarthy's criminal Brother.
"True Romance" seems a long, long time ago.
Marlon Wayans who can be grating in the extreme looks like he deserves better.
Perhaps I have been to hard on him because in fact I quite liked his performance.
A few fortunate casting decisions aside there is not much to enjoy here and the box office success is really puzzling.
In fact it did well enough that a sequel has been announced.
I honestly thought that this movie would be an amusing diversion with a few good laughs.
I was amazed to find myself half way into before the first laugh happened and there were very few to follow.
An amazingly unfunny dud.
| Rated | R13 for violence and language |
| Running Time: | 117 minutes (1hr, 51 mins without end credits) |
| Starring: |
| Sandra Bullock | --- Ashburn |
| Melissa McCarthy | --- Mullins |
| Demian Bichir | --- Hale |
| Marlon Wayans | --- Levy |
| Michael Rappaport | --- Jason Mullins |
| Jane Curtin | --- Mrs Mullins |
| Spoken Reasons | --- Rojas |
| Dan Bakkedahl | --- Craig |
| Taran Killam | --- Adam |
| Michael McDonald | --- Julian |
| Thomas F Wilson | --- Captain Woods |
| Tony Hale | --- The John |
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