On Day 4 of SPEED 2 Month, A Leaf on the Wind focused on the
popular Sandra Bullock, star of both SPEED and the puerile sequel. Within it,
her amazing amount of successful films was shown to far outweigh her dogs,
regardless of creative opinion. One of her more recent ventures was the 2013
release, THE HEAT, with popular comedic actress Melissa McCarthy.
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| THE HEAT theatre poster, with an image that never occurs in the movie |
THE HEAT is a plebian “buddy cop” picture with little to no
entertainment factor outside of McCarthy being a foul-mouthed Boston police
detective. Bullock is an anal, over competitive, overbearing FBI agent trying
to get a promotion and ends up having to work alongside McCarthy to locate a
mysterious drug lord. In the middle of that, there’s a lot of stupid jokes,
near-cameo appearances from known actors, lots of movie cliché’s and a plot
that will put you to sleep. If you’re having a bout of insomnia, this movie is
for you, believe it.
The film does have some amusing bits, most of which come
from McCarthy. The “slowest chase scene in movie history” is particularly
funny, as is her incredibly foul comments throughout the movie, regardless of
who they’re pointed at. Michael McDonald is cast against type as a vicious
criminal and does not disappoint while Jane Curtain and Michael Rapaport are
terribly underused as McCarthy’s mother and brother, respectively. Tom Wilson
is great as McCarthy’s overworked captain, but does not get nearly enough
screen time as he deserves. This flick is totally about Bullock and McCarthy
being the Odd Couple of the chick-police, no matter how boring their
personality conflict might be. It’s a shame that other actors suffer from being
a part of the story that really goes nowhere. I also don’t understand this perpetual
need to have high impact violence as part of a comedy movie, regardless of
setting. BEVERLY HILLS COP worked because a lot of the violence was off-screen
or not in your face. In THE HEAT, there are at least two head shots with red
mist spray in a graphic show of “shocking” violence. A Leaf on the Wind hopes
that someday, this sort of wanton need to shock will no longer be a part of
certain types of films, as is the way of Hollyweird.
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| Michael McDonald, not as he appears in THE HEAT |
THE HEAT was made for 43 million dollars and was a big hit,
pulling in 160 million in the States and 229 million overall. Usually this
would beg for a sequel, unless you’re a smart producer and just take the profit
and apply it to something different with what worked in the movie: McCarthy. As
is well known at this point, she’s gone on to make quite a few comedic flicks,
some hotter than others. At present, McCarthy has a movie in theatres by the
same director of THE HEAT, Paul Feig. It’s currently at #2 behind JURASSIC
WORLD, the biggest blockbuster in years. Regardless of how good THE HEAT might
not have been, it was popular enough to make a good income and give McCarthy
and Feig another shot. Will you?
Next up, horrid work situations.
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