Film Review: Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock Fuel ‘The Heat’

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CHICAGO – An incredibly talented ensemble elevates a pretty pedestrian script in the just-funny-enough “The Heat,” a movie that gets better as it goes along, largely because its two mega-talented stars carry it over some mediocre patches of writing. Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock simply have unimpeachable comic timing. They know how to work a joke, hit a punchline, and inject just enough character to make it feel three-dimensional. They’re reason enough to see “The Heat,” even if one wishes the film around them was up to their talents.

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.0/5.0
Rating: 3.0/5.0

FBI Agent Ashburn (Bullock) doesn’t have a lot of friends, on the force or otherwise. She’s one of those Type-A personalities who seems to take a bit too much joy in getting every detail of a case exactly right, down to shaming the drug-sniffing dog who misses out on the stash she finds instead. No one is good enough to work with Ashburn, which has made her a damn good crime-solver but also the kind of person that no one at the FBI wants to work with. When the time comes to promote Ashburn, her boss (Demian Bichir), is hesitant to do so. She doesn’t play well with others.

StarRead Brian Tallerico’s full review of “The Heat” in our reviews section.

The symmetry of “The Heat” comes from the fact that Boston cop Mullins (McCarthy) also doesn’t play well with others but for the exact opposite personality reasons. She’s the bull in the china shop to Ashburn’s precision approach. Ashburn is forced to work with Mullins when the latter catches a case in her district that may be the key to catching a notorious crime lord. Marlon Wayans co-stars as Ashburn’s local contact in Boston while Michael Rapaport plays Mullins’s brother, a guy who can’t stay out of jail. Jane Curtin, Bill Burr, Dan Bakkedahl, Michael McDonald, and Taran Killam fill out a talented supporting cast.

StarContinue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “The Heat” review.

“The Heat” stars Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock, Demian Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Jane Curtin, Spoken Reasons, Dan Bakkedahl, Taran Killam, and Michael McDonald. It was written by Katie Dippold and directed by Paul Feig. It will be released tomorrow, June 28, 2013.

The Heat
The Heat
Photo credit: Fox

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