The Heat

Film Data:

Title: The Heat

Date of Release: June 21, 2012

Director: Paul Feig

Written By:  Kate Dippold

Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Budget: $43,000,000

Gross: $159,532,298

Runtime: 117 minutes

Rating: R

Production Company: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Cherin Entertainment, Dune Entertainment

Sound Mix: SDDS, Datasat, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Synopsis:

            Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is an FBI Agent, married to her job and looking for a promotion. One problem is that she tends to not get along with any of her coworkers. Sarah is sent to Boston to try and figure out the real identity of a drug lord (The Larkin Case). Being promised consideration toward a promotion if she does this job in Boston, Sarah goes. When she arrives in Boston she quickly learns that she must work along with Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) who’s unconventional methods of police work drive Sarah Ashburn crazy.

            Ashburn and Mullins start investigating and they are led to a local nightclub owner. They track him down and bug his cellphone. Outside the club, two DEA agents confront them; Craig (Dan Bakkedahl) and Adam (Taran Killan). 

Craig and Adam reprimand them for almost ruining the case they’ve been working on for months. While this is happening, Mullins sees her brother on one of the screens in the surveillance van and Ashburn quickly learns that Mullins put her own brother in jail and he has recently been released and may be working with Larkin’s organization.  They go to Mullin’s house where her whole family has basically shunned her for putting Jason (Michael Rapaport) in jail; 

Jason, having no bad feelings toward his sister, gives her a tip about a possible incoming drug shipment.

The tip comes up empty but Larkin attempts to kill Jason putting him in a coma.

            Ashburn and Mullins learn about a wherehouse where Larkin runs his drug business. Upon arriving at the warehouse Ashburn and Mullins’ plan backfire and they are captured by Larkin who turns out is Adam, the DEA agent. Ashburn and Mullins are able to free themselves and run to the hospital where Larkin is because he’s trying to finish Jason off. Ashburn is able to shoot and capture Larkin. Ashburn and Mullins become great friends and Jason fully recovers. The movie ends with Mullins receiving an honor from the Boston Police department with her family cheering her on.

Commentary:

            While reading someone’s comments on this film, they made a good point “It’s a pleasure to watch a film that is confident in what it is.” And those words could not be truer. When it comes to this movie, what you see is what you get; a typical cop film with a case that can easily be solved. But once you dig a little deeper, you realize that this film is not about that at all, and that’s what I want to get into here with this commentary.  This movie is actually about the friendship between Ashburn and Mullins and how even though they are completely different people, they balance each other out and need each other’s friendship in their lives.

            One thing that led me to believe that this film really was not about the case at all was how casually they went over MAJOR plot points that were crucial to the case the two main characters were investigating.

            The casting crew did an amazing job hiring Bullock and McCarthy for the job; these two actresses balanced each other out well on the big screen plus they made quite the comedic team.

            One thing that irked me about this movie though, was how often McCarthy’s character was cursing. I hate that. Sometimes I feel screenwriters try to fit in curse words into films in order to appeal with the times and “to be funny.” What I want to watch is a great funny film sans curse words.

            Overall, if you’re looking for a feel good cop buddy film, this is it.