Movie review: Buddy cop besties bring on 'The Heat'

By MIKHAIL LECAROS

Published June 29, 2013 1:22pm

Pairing up diametrically opposite characters has always been a sure fire way of getting conflict, be it for the purposes of drama or comedy. For the latter, the 80’s and 90’s were a renaissance period of sorts in as far as the formula applied to mismatched law enforcement officials in film.

Bullock and McCarthy. 20th Century Fox

Let’s face it: after “48 Hours” (1982), “Running Scared” (1986), and “Lethal Weapon” (1987), everyone from Jim Belushi (“Red Heat”) to Sylvester Stallone (“Tango and Cash”) wanted in on the action, to decidedly mixed results. By the mid-to-late 90’s, the trend had seemingly run its course with last hurrahs in the “Bad Boys” and “Rush Hour” series, before the 2000’s pretty much put a fork in the genre with director Kevin Smith’s painfully unfunny “Cop Out” (2010). Whatever affection anyone had left for bickering buddy cops was either relegated to spoofs (“The Other Guys,” “Starsky and Hutch”) or the small screen (the “Hawaii-Five-0” reboot).

Which brings us to 2013, and Fox’s new release, “The Heat,” where the old formula has been dusted off and made over by way of trying something not seen since the heyday of “Cagney and Lacey”—making the lead characters female.

Sandra Bullock (“While You Were Sleeping,” “Speed”) stars as Sarah Ashburn, a by-the-book FBI agent whose sterling record and oversized ego alienate her from pretty much everyone in her branch office. When a case she’s working on forces her to team up with foul-mouthed, hygienically-challenged Boston Police Detective Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”), the two have to learn to put aside their differences in order to bring the bad guys to justice.

If the story sounds familiar, it is; buddy cop movies have never really been known for their narratives, relying instead on the personalities of their leads to entertain. While “The Heat” does trot out every cliché and plot device from any number of these films—from the exasperated superiors to a mole in the department—Bullock and McCarthy prove themselves a formidable comic duo, and more than capable of holding up their end of the script.

The story, by Katie Dippold (TV’s “Parks and Recreation”), is merely an excuse to line up a series of sequences (including a couple of surprisingly bloody ones) that let the stars riff off each other, and that’s not a bad thing. Academy Award-winner Bullock plays Ashburn as a slight reworking of her self-centered character from “The Proposal” with generous helpings of her trademark onscreen klutziness thrown in for good measure. At her side and in her face here is McCarthy’s Mullins, which sees the plus-sized comedienne do…what Melissa McCarthy does in pretty much every movie she’s in, which is to try and offend everyone in the room as many times as possible.

Bullock and McCarthy play off each other well, and even if you can see the “twists” their friendship will take coming from a mile away, you’ll be too busy laughing to care.

Anyone looking for action will be disappointed, but those looking for a laugh will not be left wanting. Standout scenes here include Ashburn’s inability to blend into a crowd at a nightclub, any gag involving the cat and the albino, Mullins and Ashburn growing ridiculously inebriated at a seedy bar, and a bit involving a knife in a leg that had the audience gasping and laughing in equal measure.

Though sorely lacking in screen time, the supporting cast consists of players and cameos that reads like a role call of funny men and women from various eras, including Thomas F. Wilson (“Back to the Future’s” Biff Tannen!), Jane Curtin (first-generation SNL cast member!), Taran Killam (current SNL cast member), Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie), Michael McDonald (MADtv), and Andy Buckley (“The Office”).

While “The Heat” won’t be remembered for reinventing the buddy cop wheel, it will be remembered for giving moviegoers a fresh spin on a genre long thought stagnant, delivering solid laughs, brief moments of violence and, most importantly, anticipation for Mullins and Ashburn’s next case. — VC, GMA News

"The Heat" is now showing in theaters nationwide.

Mikhail Lecaros is a professional magazine editor and freelance writer. The views expressed in this article are solely his own.

Tags: theheat, movie, review, sandrabullock, melissamccarthy