"The Heat" Reviews

[belelmo27cien]

As the reviews started popping up, I thought it would be easier to check if we put all the reviews in one place. There are already some reviews posted in the main thread, so I will add them here eventually.

It would be great if you put "Positive" "Negative" "Mixed" at the beginning.

Attachments:

[belelmo27cien]

Review by It's Just Movies - POSITIVE

itsjustmovies.com/review-the-heat/

Do you know what really irks me? When you see a trailer for a movie and literally all the funny parts are in the trailer. Lucky for all involved, this is not the case with The Heat.

If ever a movie had high expectations from me, it was this one. I am a huge fan of Melissa McCarthy and who doesn't love Sandy Bullock? I almost did not want to see the movie because there was no way it was going to live up to any standards I had set for it. This is partially true, I will confess, however, I'm really glad I saw the film.

Special Agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is an uptight member of the FBI who does not play well with, well, anybody. When she is assigned to a very important drug case, she is forced to work with Boston detective Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), who equally and preferably works alone. What ensues is, of course, comedy. And let me tell you, it was funny.

Granted, it's not as funny as Bridesmaids (also directed by Paul Feig) for sure. That is one of those expectations of mine that was crushed. What wasn't crushed was my expectation for the chemistry that Bullock and McCarthy could have. Sandy brings her brand of humor and Melissa brings that mouth that only a sailor could appreciate and they really mesh so well together. This is the glue for the movie and it absolutely would not have worked had the chemistry not been perfection.

One assumption many people had, myself included, was that Bullock's character would basically be the same character she played in Miss Congeniality. This is not the case. Both characters have the same job, and that's about where they stop being connected, I assure you.

The reason the funniest parts were not in the trailer for this film, simple, is the language. I don't even understand how they cut together a trailer with Melissa in it at all, considering the cussing she does. And thank goodness for that because there were a few scenes that really had the audience in stitches. Even Bullock lets loose a little on the language.

Plot-wise, the film is standard for cop comedies, but the writing is nothing to joke about. It was well written and well executed by the leading ladies. The simplest jokes were laid out in full glory, and one of the funniest moments, for me personally, involved a Boston accent that is so simple, but it was delivered and played incredibly well. Similarly, there was a very long scene in which one portion involved ordinary scotch tape and I thought I was going to pee myself. And I would just like to say kudos to writer Katie Dippold, who did not have to resort to any jokes about weight in the film.

The soundtrack is very fitting with an urban gritty feel. There are definitely some rap tracks, which suits the film's needs. I got into the music, which is always a huge bonus for me.

All in all, the film is well made, well acted, and, most importantly, funny. The cast was great in its entirety, not just the two stars. Marlon Wayans, Taran Killam, Michael Rapaport and Thomas Wilson are all great in their roles. And, of course, there's a cameo by McCarthy's husband, Ben Falcone.

The Heat is rated R because it has strong, strong language, but there is no raunchy or overly sex driven themes. I would just like to say, it's really great to see Sandra Bullock back to her normal quirky self (America still has her back). I recommend seeing the film, just not with the family, definitely adults only.

The Heat is a great buddy flick, take your friends, but leave your thoughts of “Bridesmaids� at home. Don't let that film cloud your head. Look at The Heat as its own entity, and trust me, you will laugh.

[belelmo27cien]

MOVIEVIRAL.com -- POSITIVE (5 out of 5)

www.movieviral.com/2013/06/25/the-heat-review-this-buddy-cop-comedy-is-armed-with-an-arsenal-of-laughs/

[belelmo27cien]

Review by SHOWBUSS DAILY -- Okay?

It sounds positive but they say "watch it at home." I've been checking RottenTomato but there is only one review so far. I wonder if there is any embargo till the release, but it doesn't make sense as they have been screening this film like crazy.
Or critics just don't bother writing reviews?

www.showbuzzdaily.com/reviews/showbuzzdaily-film-review-the-heat.html

[belelmo27cien]

Review by The Seattle Times - POSITIVE

seattletimes.com/html/movies/2021276916_theheatxml.html

[jorgeleewalker]

I guess that many reviews have to be posted yet, but Rotten Tomatoes gives, at this momento, a very good 71% of fresh reviews:

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_heat/

I guess the average rate will get lower as more reviews are posted, but even the negative ones say good things about Bullock and McCarthy chemistry.

[belelmo27cien]

I was checking RT since there was no review, and it started out 33% or something. As more reviews came in, more "Fresh" it became. But I was expecting to see it would have dropped this morning, but surprisingly it still has 69%, and with top critics, it's 82% at the moment. I don't know how many reviews a film needs to get certified, but it's interesting to see how it goes. I personally don't really care the score though, considering my past experience of the score vs. my likings.

[belelmo27cien]

Review by New York Post -- POSITIVE

Most of reviews talk about Melissa a lot more than Sandy, which is understandable but a bit sad as they refer Sandy as "a foil" to Melissa. But this review talks a bit more about Sandy.

www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/movies/mccarthy_bullock_light_up_the_screen_pMknPTaNEUkjKLgD24Dl9H

(Sandy's part only)
Bullock’s whip-smart agent routinely alienates colleagues by showing them up, while McCarthy’s cop’s bullying and profane insults have turned the hair of her exasperated boss (Thomas Wilson) prematurely gray.

Bullock can do a double-takes better than any actress working today, and boy, does force-of-nature McCarthy give her plenty to work with.

This is not the first time Bullock has played a clumsy FBI agent — there was “Miss Congeniality’’ and its sequel — but she doesn’t resort to her trademark snort this time, while showing her facility for knockabout physical comedy (and willingness to make herself look ridiculous) is undiminished at the age of 48.

[belelmo27cien]

Huffington Post UK -- Positive

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/alice-charles/the-heat-review_b_3603100.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy work so well together, you wonder why someone didn't get them to team up before. Here Bullock plays uptight, by-the-book FBI agent Ashburn (a character not a million miles away from the one she played in Miss Congeniality) coerced by her boss to partner with a maverick Boston cop, Mullins (McCarthy) to catch a drug lord.

They are chalk and cheese and initially rub each other up the wrong way, Ashburn a stickler for rules, Mullins the human dynamo who wants results yesterday. But we know it's only a matter of time before they realise they can work together. Both are women working in a man's world. Ashburn is the know-it-all who infuriates all her colleagues with her need to be right about everything. Meanwhile, Mullins is a bull in a china shop who leaves a trail of mayhem wherever she goes.

The Heat is all about female empowerment, even down to its soundtrack, but there's plenty that will make both sexes laugh here - even if the male body count is high (perhaps a deliberate attempt to counter the misogyny is so many other movies).

Bullock and McCarthy are ably supported by a host of players among them Marlon Wayans playing Bullock's potential love interest (perhaps the writer is saving that for the next instalment) and there's a cameo from McCarthy real-life husband Ben Falcone as one of her many spurned lovers (a running joke throughout the film). Indeed, it's pleasantly surprising to see just how inclusive this film is.

With a script by Parks & Recreation writer Katie Dippold, there are some great one-liners. Cornered by a criminal gang, Mullins asks, "Are you and her engaged?". "Because you just gave me a ring!" Bullock retorts, brandishing the pulled ring on a hand grenade.

Bullock and McCarthy both excel at physical comedy and Bullock is generous enough a performer to allow McCarthy free rein. I can't imagine someone like Tom Cruise doing the same thing. Apparently, the sequel has already been given the greenlight - and deservedly so. This is easily the funniest film I've seen all year.

[belelmo27cien]

Boy, I didn't realize that I hadn't posted reviews for a long time while I read quite a few. Time flies.

Anyway, this is a good one in which praised Sandy.

Evening Standard (UK) - positive (4 stars)

www.standard.co.uk/goingout/film/the-heat--film-review-8743171.html

Paul Feig's follow-up to Bridesmaids is a terrific vehicle for the perfectly mismatched comic stylings of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy

Paul Feig’s last film, the riotous female-led romcom Bridesmaids, was a deserved smash, but the industry hoopla around it was self-defeatingly patronising: “See, women can be funny!” studio execs crowed, as if this still needs proving 45 years on from the death of Dorothy Parker.

They will do the same with The Heat, so let’s get this out of the way now: this terrific vehicle for the perfectly mismatched comic stylings of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy isn’t a hilarious girl-power trip. It’s simply hilarious. That it’s also the most satisfying Hollywood comedy since, well, Bridesmaids — and in the male-dominated buddy-cop genre, to boot — bodes ill for the glass ceiling, but you don’t need a uterus to laugh yourself silly when McCarthy, as a deranged lawwoman, apprehends a criminal by tossing a watermelon at his head.

The humour isn’t sophisticated, and neither is the premise, which doesn’t veer far from the Eighties template set by 48 Hrs and Lethal Weapon. Bullock is the by-the-book FBI agent who must partner up with McCarthy’s rogue Boston cop to take down a toxic drug lord.

You can probably guess that they don’t get on until, eventually, they do; happily, the duo’s personalities mesh beautifully from the get-go. Bullock may have won an Oscar for a plucky dramatic turn in The Blind Side, but she’s still a marvellous physical comedian, her sweet spryness accentuated rather than overwhelmed by McCarthy’s flashier barnstorming — which can grate in more dimwitted vehicles than this.

First-time feature writer Katie Dippold’s snappy script intersperses the breeziness with bristly office politics, but allows more room for the stars’ snappy comic riffing. Theirs is the kind of heat that can’t be faked or calculated; in a summer overburdened with sequels, here’s a pairing that actually demands one.

[belelmo27cien]

Is it just me who feels UK critics appreciate Sandy's performance more than US critics?

The Telegraph (UK) - Positive (4 stars)

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10216557/The-Heat-review.html

The much-quoted Bechdel test, which a statistically jaw-dropping number of movies fail, stipulates that at least two female characters should (a) appear in the film, (b) have a conversation and (c) discuss something other than a man. If you decided to make a film that would not just pass this test but ace it repeatedly in almost every scene, you might come up with The Heat, a good cop/bad cop action comedy with the funniest two-women-above-the-title pairing in memory.

Bridesmaids director Paul Feig brings back one of that filmfs stars, Melissa McCarthy, as a foul-mouthed Boston cop called Sharon Mullins, whose take-no-prisoners policing style, aided by a fridge full of armaments, makes Dirty Harry look like Thumbelina. Even if you couldnft get on board with McCarthyfs bull-in-a-china-shop antics in Bridesmaids, this might convert you: itfs a ferociously detailed performance, with stone-cold timing that never gets monotonous, and an emotional clout that hits you seemingly from nowhere.

Shefs paired, disastrously, with a goody-two-shoes FBI agent, in which role Sandra Bullock reminds us what a perfect pro she is at mainstream comedy, even with the eromf element wholly dialled down. Her characterfs priggish discomfort with swearing, tragic home life bonding with a cat that isnft even hers, and ability to infuriate colleagues by being constantly right about everything: these are all vintage Bullock routines, delivered with the uptight self-awareness of a smart-alec who knows everyonefs whispering behind her back.

Together, theyfre dynamite, in a lit-by-mistake kind of way. Itfs barely worth mentioning the plot - this duo reluctantly join forces to bring down a mystery drug-lord - as itfs intentionally the same as every Lethal Weapon/48 Hours formula shoot-em-up youfve ever seen, with a knowing dash of Cagney and Lacey. The joy is their allergic response to each otherfs company. Itfs a nice twist that Bullockfs Ashburn is the sad case with a dismal dating record: Mullins is a guilt-free maneater who looks like shefs chewed them up without even spitting them out.

For all its liberating vulgarity, Bridesmaids was still about a wedding, still about envy, still about getting the right guy. The Heat goes it one better as an offhandedly feminist multiplex laugh riot, because all these two finally need is each other. Insults fly, shots are downed, weird dancing transpires. It seems such a simple formula, but it took the right star pairing to come off - the moviefs engineered skilfully enough that it simply wouldnft work with anyone else. In a summer when lousy franchises have dragged on unbidden - just look at this very week - itfs great to reach the end of a modestly hyped movie and find yourself craving a sequel instantly.

[addicted]

UK critics seem to mention Sandy more and they definitely have positive things to say about her which is lovely.