Les flingueuses

I cannot understand all the very negative reviews for this movie. They almost convinced me not to watch it. Fortunately, the decent reviews convinced me to take an chance, and I am glad I did. This movie is as good a comedy as any of the decent comedies to come out in the last two years, of which there were not many. The acting was top class. The script was very funny and the direction was just right. The leads complimented each other perfectly. The pace was very good and kept you interested. Even the slower part which was only a very small portion of the overall movie, but was one of the things which made it more human and easier to relate to. Well worth a look.

The good cop-bad cop routine gets a makeover in Paul Feig's (Bridesmaids, Freaks and Geeks) latest vehicle The Heat, by playing up the expert comic timing of two funny women to rather interesting effect. Straitlaced FBI special agent Sarah Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) has a natural instinct for busting hidden dope and comes armed with high qualifications, overconfidence and a motivation to prove herself. In a bid to win a promotion, she takes on a high-profile assignment in Boston and reluctantly partners Shannon Mullins (Melissa McCarthy), an in-your- face local detective whose vocabulary is generously peppered with expletives. Totally "real", she pulls no punches and plays by her own rules. Neither of them are the most popular officers around, likely a consequence of their raw ambition and overall refusal to abide by gender stereotypes in male-dominated profession.

Their partnership begins with a tumultuous start as Mullins takes offence at Ashburn's decision to interrogate her witness without permission, and her territorial reaction results in a hilarious confrontation in her boss's office. Ever the career-minded professional, Ashburn recognizes the importance of the partnership to her potential promotion, and decides to make peace in order to track down a drug cartel boss. The pair storm through the neighbourhoods of Boston, leveraging on each other's strengths while reconciling their differences.

When opposites are presented to each other, they form a mirror for the each other's shortcomings, and perhaps part of the attraction comes from the patching of those gaps. In an attempt to bug a cartel member's mobile phone, Ashburn steps out of her comfort zone and strips down while Mullins provides the distraction in an entertaining scene at the club. Sure, they're not the hottest girls around, but they're the ones who've got all the attention. The stakes go up when Mullins' brother's involvement with the cartel puts her family at risk. The belligerent partnership metamorphoses into warm friendship as both women come to emphathise with each other's vulnerabilities. Even when the world is against them, both detectives are more than confident of holding their own and solving the case on their own terms.

The story's direction is completely predictable, but it is the script – down-to-earth, genuine and liberally dowsed in R-rated language – that boosts the movie, alongside the winning appeal of the two leads. As she's established before in her Miss Congeniality films, Bullock is witty, naturally droll and looks good with a gun. McCarthy combines hard-nosed physicality with dewy-eyed tenderness, creating a character you can empathise with and would want on your side of the ring in a fight.

A respected writer, producer and director, director Feig is perhaps best known for the massive 2011 box-office hit Bridesmaids. The female-led comedy raked in global earnings of US$300 million, established leading star Kristin Wiig as a bonafide comedy film star and introduced McCarthy as a capable comedian with a physicality that's absent among most Hollywood actresses. The story here tries hard to make you laugh, sometimes too hard (you can tell Bullock knows when to milk it when she's delivering a particularly amusing line), but also unexpectedly tugs at your heartstrings: Bullock and McCarthy share a good chemistry and their scenes together, in particular the improv-heavy ones in the bar, demonstrate the rapport between the two.

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Superb duo for the "Buddy movie + Detective / Partner" formula Bullock and Mccarthy pulls off one of the best comedies in years to come.

Overall - 3.5/5

The Heat is a good movie with a reasonably well developed plot and a fantastic comedic cast. It's a fun movie that is filled with side splitting hilarious scenes and great improv from its cast all around. The highlight is the stellar chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, they clearly enjoyed working together, which shows very well on screen. However, the story itself was quite flat, it was not one bit compelling or intense, as well as being too straight forward to really pull us in. I also felt the film made too many jokes about Bulllock's character being unattractive as a result of her restricted personality, this got tiresome after a while, but it just continues pretty much until the end of the movie, it was an extremely repetitive gag that was not even accurate for someone as beautiful as Bullock. It certainly has its imperfections, but The Heat is good, harmless fun, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good comedy, just do not go out of your way to see it.

A straight laced FBI agent is partnered up with a foul mouthed street cop in a hunt for a drug lord.

Best Performance: Sandra Bullock

Sandra and Melissa have such an amazing chemistry! It's like they are just natural when it comes to working together. Of course this movie had some of the wall scenes and over the top moments but what do you expect from Melissa McCarthy. I enjoyed the movie and it was extremely funny and family-oriented and what is definitely needed during this Covid-19 pandemic time......many laughs.