Starring Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy
Directed by Paul Feig
Becoming typecast is one of the many pitfalls Hollywood actors attempt to avoid and the two leads in Paul Feigs buddy comedy, The Heat, tread dangerously close to stereotypical territory.
Sandra Bullock plays the conservative, tightly wound FBI agent who is paired up with Melissa McCarthys crass and volatile Boston cop and, although the idea sounds good on paper, the results are astonishingly tepid.
When the two put their difference aside and come together to take down a ruthless drug lord they soon find a predictable friendship is brewing.The movies script, from newcomer Katie Dippold, is full of rude and offensive jokes but short on real wit and nuance, something Feigs previous effort Bridesmaids was able to pull off so effectively.Instead, we are left with a mean-spirited, aggressively violent and clichéd jumble of skits that fit together awkwardly into a full length film.
The other unsettling aspect of the movies comedic elements is the physical comedy McCarthy is forced to endure at the expense of her weight, the results are beyond unflattering.The Heat boasts some strong supporting players: Oscar nominee Demian Bichir, who does little more that scowl; Jane Curtin, who is reduced to one-liners; and the once great Michael Rapaport, whose talents are hidden beneath a paper thin character.
Perhaps the film would have worked better if Bullock and McCarthys roles were reversed; at least is would offer some modicum of surprise; sadly the final product is as forgettable and stale as the films generic title.
