The Heat: "Don't Make Me Put This Cat Down And Punch You"

Director: Paul Feig
Writer:    Katie Dippold
Starring: Sandra Bullock
               Melissa McCarthy
               Dan Bakkedahl
               Demian Bichir
               Tom Wilson
               Michael Rappaport
               Marlon Wayans
               Taran Killam
               Ben Falcone
               Paul Feig
Rating:    ****  

Release Date: 31/07/2013

If I could pick my perfect combination of genre, stars, and story I would have things like HORROR, NEVE CAMPBELL & JAMIE LEE CURTIS, SERIAL KILLER, or DRAMA, MERYL STREEP & GEORGE CLOONEY, HARROWING TALE OF LIFE & DEATH. You pick the best and try and conjur up something that would allow them to perform at their best and produce an amazing film. Well this is exactly what you get with The Heat. Comedies current it-girl, Melissa McCarthy, with comedy veteran, Sandra Bullock. Make them polar opposites, put them in a wacky situation...you have movie gold.

Sandra Bullock & Melissa McCarthy

Sarah Ashburn (Bullock), an FBI agent, is extremely ambitious and has her eye on a promotion, but she doesn't get along with her co-workers. She gets sent to Boston to uncover the identity of an elusive drug lord, Mr. Larkin (Killam), and is told that she'll have a good shot at the promotion if she finds Larkin. When she arrives in Boston, she learns that Larkin has been eliminating his competition and taking over their operations. She learns that one of his men is in Boston PD custody and goes to see him to ask him what he knows about Larkin, but is warned that the cop who arrested Rojas, Shannon Mullins (McCarthy), is very territorial, and she is not exactly sociable. 

Of course when the two meet they don't get along Ashburn is uptight and a jobsworth, whereas Mullins is care-free and slightly more off kilter. When Mullins learns why Ashburn is in Boston, she decides to find Larkin herself. Ashburn is told by her boss to work with Mullins, but it won't be easy because Ashburn does things by the book while Mullins does things her way.

Of course it is the type of film that has been done before, we have seen many buddy cop movies over the years, but there is one thing that is very different about this one...they're women. Of course you may think that is no big deal, but in reality it is huge. It is rare to see women play these sorts of roles, we have had female cops and agents before, don't get ,e wrong. However they are always the sidekick never the leader, so here we have two strong female leads, taking the reigns and show men how it's done. 

Marlon Wayans

Also, if you are gonna have a film with two strong female leads could you do much better than this. Having said that you could probably throw a stone in Hollywood at the moment and hit a comedy goddess, with the likes of Kristen Wiig, Rebel Wilson, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler...the list is never ending. Either way McCarthy and Bullock are perfect, they can both be glamorous, but boy oh boy can they play rough and ready police officers all at the same time. neither are afraid to fight, run and get physical, and it is the more physical comedy which had me roaring with laughter.

The cherry, on the icing, all the perfectly baked cake is the amazing choice of director. After the success of Bridesmaids there really was only one choice to take the job, and that was Paul Fieg. He knows how to make a hilarious romp, and certainly knows how to get the best laughs out of his comedy. Admittedly the script isn't as strong as Bridesmaids, but the cast and direction do what they do, and boy do they do it well. It isn't going to be n cinemas for long, so go and see it whilst you still can.

The Heat - Trailer