The Heat

Remember when I told you in past reviews that finding a comedy that was even palatable was next to impossible? Well, I still believe this, but I did see a comedy that puts a little more faith in me when it comes to comedy writing out there. And this comes in the form of a small comedy titled, "The Heat".

Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock), an FBI agent is extremely ambitious and has her eye on a promotion, but her boss, Hale (Demian Bichir) says that she doesn't get along with her co-workers. She is sent to Boston to find out who an elusive drug dealer is by getting to the man who is fronting for him, and is told by Hale that she'll have a good shot at the promotion if she finds the dealer. When she arrives in Boston, she learns that the dealer has been eliminating his competition and taking over their operations. She learns that a small dealer, Rojas (Spoken Reasons) is in Boston PD custody and goes to ask him what he knows about the dealer, but is warned that the cop who arrested the dealer, Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) is very territorial. And she is not exactly sociable, to say the least. When the two meet, they really don't get along. When Mullins learns from her boss, Captain Woods (Tom Wilson) what Ashburn is in Boston for, she, in a huff, decides to find the dealer herself. Ashburn is told by Hale to work things out with Mullins so as to get the job done, but it won't be easy, because Ashburn does things by the book, whereas Mullins just shoots from the hip and goes a lot by gut reaction.

Others to round out the cast are Marlon Wayans as Agent Levy, Michael Rapaport as Jason Mullins, Det. Mullins' brother, Jane Curtin as Mrs. Mullins, Det. Mullins' Mom, Dan Bakkedahl as Craig, a DEA agent, Taren Killam as Adam, a DEA agent, and Michael McDonald as Julian.

This was adequately directed by Paul Feig ("I Am David" '03, "Early Bird" (TV movie) '05, "Unaccompanied Minors" '06, "Ronna & Beverly" (TV movie) '09, "Bridesmaids" '11). I'm sure this was not unfamiliar territory for Feig in that he has worked with McCarthy before, "Bridesmaids" and comedy is his schtick. The surprise here was the writing which was written by newcomer to feature films, Katie Diffold. Although this was not a perfectly written film, by any means, it was a script that was far funnier a cohesive than I ever expected, especially being a comedy. Is there still hope for Hollywood comedies out there, or is this just a fluke? Time will only tell, since "The Heat 2" has already been announced, and to be written by Diffold.

Trust me, the only reason why I waited to see this was totally out of fear--fear that I would yet be subjected to another gross, banal, film that leaves one totally empty. But instead I got a fairly smart script with Bullock and McCarthy's chemistry allowing us to have fun with this flick. Thanks Diffold.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                        Rated: R                        117mins.