In the realm of film there are certain actors that when you hear they’re in a movie you can already tell the audience exactly what kind of movie it is and what the story will be with a little wiggle room for certain details, like job type and such. Sandra Bullock is one of those actresses. The Heat is a film which takes Ashburn (Sandra Bullock), a by the book federal agent, that finds herself having to partner up with Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), the do what works foul mouth Boston cop, to catch a drug lord.

In this, a Bullock film, they go against each other, they become kind of cool with each other, then they become super cool with one another, then they don’t, then they do…. then it ends. It’s kind of just like Miss Congeniality, The Proposal and Two Weeks Notice. Right? The question is whether the buddy cop duo works in enough laughs for us to stop thinking of the triteness of the story or characters. I’m not sure to be honest. Melissa McCarthy is great in this film. Somehow, even with the ridiculous accent and over the top character of Mullins being the do gooder who disguises her big heart with a lot of four letter words and general aggression in how she completes her work, McCarthy shines as this comedic juggernaut that we have to wonder will get old for audiences. The problem with that thought though is that whether it ends up happening or not in the near or distant future an inescapable fact is that it definitely won’t be today.

It’s a weird thing with comedy, and I’ve said it before with films like This is the End and It’s a Disaster recently, in that it’s difficult to express how a comedy can just work or not work and not just say “it worked” or “it didn’t work”. Comedy like these films, as well as The Heat, can end up feeling like a really enjoyable ninety-minute sketch that you would see on Saturday Night Live and therefore be difficult to really praise other than saying it simply, “I laughed”. So here I am saying “I laughed” at The Heat — for the most part — and I don’t really know why. It’s not some introspective character piece where you feel watching Mullins and Ashburn becoming friends is going to help yourself figure out how to get your life into a better place, but rather just in service of having these two amazing comedy actresses doing a lot of funny things.

What did you think of The Heat?