One of our local movie critics previewed The Heat, starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, and he did not like it. He said the funniest parts of the movies were the parts we saw in the trailer. I usually take what these critics say with a grain of salt, so to speak. After all, everyone has different tastes. I thought The Heat was very funny, enjoyable, with a great story line which was easy to follow. I don't like to think too much during movies. I don't like spending two hours trying to put pieces together in my head to figure out a plot. I was able to sit back, relax and laugh A LOT while watching The Heat. It was well worth the price of admission.
The Heat pairs two unlikely characters, an uptight FBI Special Agent named Sarah Ashburn, played by Bullock, with a testy cop named Shannon Mullins, played by McCarthy. Their goal is to find and arrest a drug lord. They are not paired up by choice. Their personalities are worlds apart. Mullins is an over aggressive Police Officer who would rather beat or shoot criminals than look at them, while Ashburn is the Barney Fife of Special Agents, going straight by the book. Mullins wears the same shirt every day, turning it inside out to make herself think the shirt is clean. She's not very hygenic! Ashburn looks like a librarian with her fancy skirts, prim and proper, choosing her words carefully so as not to seem offensive. This movie is DEFINITELY not for kids under 18, although I'm sure there are quite a few who will see it anyway. The language is vulgar, mostly from Melissa McCarthy's character, and there are explicit sexual references throughout the movie.
I thought Melissa McCarthy carried this movie. Her one liners, which made me blush at times, were over the top funny. I found myself laughing at her character continuously throughout the movie, whether it was intended that way or not. Her character was very domineering, aggressive, assertive, loud, rude, but funny. I think she definitely outshined the other cast members. Don't get me wrong. Sandra Bullock was outstanding in this movie. She mastered her character's quirkiness, played it well. It's hard to rise above such a dominant character such as the one played by McCarthy. Maybe that was the producers' intention.
The supporting cast in this movie was terrific, especially the character Albino man, one of the Drug Enforcement Agency officers. The one liners between McCarthy's character and this man were classic! I didn't think Jane Curtin's character, Mullins' mother, got enough screen time. She is naturally funny and I would have liked to have seen more of her character. Marlon Wayans, Joe Rappaport, and Thomas Wilson were very likeable in the movie. You may recognize Wilson as having played Biff Tannen in Back To The Future.
The Heat was a hilarious movie with a great story line, great actors and supporting actors. It was worth the price of admission! I disagree with any critic who says this movie wasn't funny, but you may disagree with me when you see it. Everyone has their own taste in movies, but as for me, I will give this movie 3-1/2 out of 5 stars.