THE HEAT(2013)

When the promos of The Heat were out, it sent out an indication of another loud and on your face comedy which might or might not have been intelligent. But after sitting through this 2 hours long gripping tale of sisterhood that was so difficult for both Bullock and McCarthy to fathom for the duration of the movie, I cannot help but say that I am amazed at how good this film finally turned out to be. Everything falls into place leaving room for absolutely nothing to chance. The title characters perform so well that you are sucked into the narrative within minutes of it starting. The humor is intelligent and the action, as much as it has is done with aplomb and finesse.

The story revolves around a FBI agent and a law enforcement officer who are as different from each other as they can be and their lives keep crisscrossing each other as both of them try to track a defiant drug dealer. Ashburn (Bullock) is an articulate, thinking and calculative individual who is at her prime as an Agent with the Agency and yet always finds herself on the wrong footing with the other agent because of her less than friendly behavior. Mullins (McCarthy) is her exact opposite who doesn’t mind offering a guest a half-eaten sandwich which is a day old. She prefers her mits to dialog and investigation and also has a known drug dealer as her brother. She has a horrific family who hate her guts. The story is about what happens when these two polarized individuals cross each other’s path and are literally made to work with each other.

The movie sets up an interesting premise opening up the possibilities for the humor to sink in. The comedy here is very situational and it is not the laugh out loud sort that we are getting used to over the years. I have no complaints with that sort but situational comedy has its own distinct charm.     Once the buildup is completed, the two characters of Mullins and Ashburn provide the fireworks in their electric chemistry as also with their epic comic timing. The drama does keep room for some serious situations and that helps us feel the reach of the comedy even further. There are prolonged scenes of pure dialog between them that are so exasperating that it will make the asthmatics run for their inhalers.

The action though limited is significant. The climax does settle of any questions that might have been raised about its quality. One has to look at this film as a comedy which serves up some pretty decent action sequences. Once you are ready to do that, the sequences become even more rewarding. Some of the comic scenes will be etched in the memory of the viewers long after the screening. Special mention has to be made of the scene where Mullins looks for her Boss’ balls. That was epic. I have never seen anything close to it in the recent times.

Having said all that, The Heat only falters in the department that it has a thin plot. If one takes away the chemistry and magic of the Bullock-McCarthy duo, there isn’t much left to talk about. However, the point is that the film does boast of their casting and no one is actually taking them out and that gives us a world of entertainment. The film also addresses a wide range of issues mostly related to gender biases in a flamboyant manner. There is a killer joke about an Albino man which is done in a manner that will tickle your ribs. The film also gives you a crash course in not taking complicated surgical procedures in hand unless you are a surgeon.

Overall, The Heat is a decent movie which can be enjoyed at varied levels. One has to be aware of the extremely profane nature of the dialogs used in the conversations. If you have a problem with profanity then this might just not be the right film for you. But for all those who are willing to look beyond the veil of the profanity mist, there are rewards a plenty. It is one of the smartest and quirkiest comedies to have come out in the recent times.