There's a tendency for feminist critics to project feminist ideals onto every film project which features women prominently either in front of or behind the camera. I'm guilty of it too. I used to think that every movie with a female director or screenwriter has to "say something progressive/positive/refreshing about women." Especially now that we're living in a post-Bridesmaids world, where there is a hyperawareness of the lack of feminine stories being told and of the depressing low numbers of mainstream female filmmakers.
So where does The Heat fit into all of this? Well, it's directed by Bridesmaids director and Emmy nominee Paul Feig. It's written by a woman Katie Dippold, best known for her work on Parks and Rec. It stars Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Melissa McCarthy, who is the rare female star without model looks. Her last starring role was Identity Thief (shared with Jason Bateman), which made about $135 million in the US despite mixed reviews. And it also stars Sandra Bullock, who remains one of the most powerful actresses in Hollywood. Her last starring role was The Blind Side, which won her an Oscar and made over $255 million in the US with marketing relying on her name only. Meryl Streep can do that but who else?
With a pedigree like that, The Heat has a lot of pressure on it. Can it recreate the Bridesmaids magic? It's possible. But, in my opinion, it doesn't have to. The Heat, which I haven't seen yet, looks like another entry into the buddy cop comedy genre. But instead of, say, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, it stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. Their characters, based on the trailers and TV spots, look like opposites forced to work together. Bullock is the by the book FBI agent and McCarthy is the wild rule-breaking cop who gets the job done.
I admit, I was a bit disappointed when I first saw the ads for The Heat. You have the director of Bridesmaids, Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy and a Parks and Rec writer and the best they could come up with was a run of the mill buddy cop action-comedy? Obviously, every movie should strive to be great and special. But when it comes to movies like The Heat, sometimes being entertaining is enough.
The Heat doesn't look like anything but a comedy starring two great comedians that promises a handful of quotable punchlines and zany actions scenes. That there are two 40+ women in the lead roles seems more like an added bonus than an attempt to revolutionize the action-comedy genre or something like that. The movie, again based on the ads, doesn't treat the gender of its stars as some huge shocker. They're law enforcement professionals who just happen to be women.
Right now the movie holds a 64% at Rotten Tomatoes, which is just a hair better than the 61% that Rush Hour has. I doubt The Heat will say anything profound about female friendships or women working in male-dominated careers. But Rush Hour or Men in Black or Beverly Hills Cop or 21 Jump Street weren't all that profound either. They were goofy, they were exciting. That's all The Heat aspires to be.
There's a big chance The Heat will be successful with the combined star power and talents of Bullock and McCarthy, It's opening against White House Down, a summer blockbuster action thriller starring 2012 Box Office Champ Channing Tatum but neither film is likely to overtake Pixar's Monsters University. And if The Heat is successful, more like it will probably come. Hopefully, with more female-oriented films like The Heat, the shock of seeing actresses as leads without a male co-star will eventually wear off and this discussion will become obsolete.
