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The Heat

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the heat

Director: Paul Feig

Writer: Katie Dippold

Starring:  Melissa McCarthy, Sandra Bullock

Tomatometer: 62/69/78 (all critics, top critics, audience)

Spoiler-free Summary: Sandra Bullock is a superb FBI agent, and she knows it.  Melissa McCarthy is the ultimate rule-breaking cop, and she knows the streets of Boston better than anyone else does.  Forced to work together to track down a druglord, these two know-it-alls become locked in an epic battle of one-upmanship.

Two Cents: Just as an actor can often fall into a specific niche role, never to find a way out, so, too, a director can become the go-to guy/gal for a specific genre.  For example, Christopher Nolan did wonders for Batman, so DC Comics made sure to get him heavily involved in a Superman reboot.  Do you have a weak script that’s going to need a transfusion of explosions and humor, in order to survive?  Michael Bay is your man.

After the incredible success of last year’s Bridesmaids, people finally believe that chicks are sort of funny.  However, only Paul Feig seems to have Hollywood’s blessing, when it comes to betting actual dollars on that belief (something that will probably only happen once or twice a year for the foreseeable future).  Paul Feig is 50 years old, but Bridesmaids was his first silver screen hit.  Still, he found a formula that works, and that’s exactly why he’ll be directing female comedies like The Heat for years to come.

The Heat is nothing new, but it’s certainly entertaining.  There are even a few laugh-out-loud moments, which has been rare the last few years.  Lucky for Feig, he had the privilege of working with Bridesmaids‘s breakout star, Melissa McCarthy, once again.  McCarthy owns this movie the way Eddie Murphy owned the Beverly Hills Cop movies.  Even with a star like Bullock beside her, and a bounty of well-known and talented comedic and character actors filling out the smaller roles (and some decent cameos), McCarthy demands attention in every frame.  She’s obnoxious, lovable, grotesque, and hilarious.  Bullock is very good, as well, but she knows it’s not really her show.

The real issue is whether McCarthy’s act (which isn’t far off from the characters she played in Bridesmaids and Identity Thief) will get old after another movie or two.  It happened to Zach Galifianakis, it happened to Jim Carrey, and the list goes on.  Feig and McCarthy are both riding high, right now, but one can’t help but wonder whether they should quit while they’re ahead.  Surely, each of them is talented enough to try something else and achieve incredible success.  Right?  Well, I guess time will tell.  (It’s worth noting that McCarthy’s tame sitcom, Mike & Molly, was 2012-2013’s 37th-highest rated show.  Not great, but surprisingly respectable.)  But, one thing’s for sure; we should all enjoy it while it lasts.

Should I/Shouldn’t I: Melissa McCarthy is a rare breed – an actress who is actually getting lead roles!  Not only that, but studios are even writing lead roles with McCarthy, specifically, in mind.  That just doesn’t happen, these days.  She is a star, and she deserves her success.  That’s even more rare.  Eventually, she’ll be replaced in the Hollywood hierarchy by another comedic actress, so, make sure you catch her while you can.    

Sundae Rating: Two scoops

Now You See Me

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now you see me

Director: Louis Leterrier

Writer: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Mélanie Laurent

Tomatometer: 47/26/75 (all critics, top critics, audience)

Spoiler-free Summary: Jesse, Woody, Isla, and Dave are all middling street magicians.  A mysterious person in a Zuckerbergian hoodie recruits the four of them to perform as a team.  After a year of preparation, the Four Horsemen open their act in Las Vegas.  For their final trick of opening night, the group magically robs a bank, setting off an FBI-led manhunt and a slew of high-profile crimes.

Two Cents: Like many who saw its trailer, I could not wait for this movie.  Boasting a stellar cast and the combination of a classic film genre (bank robbery) with another that has long been under-appreciated (magic), this movie had “summer fun” written all over it.  Sadly, those words were written with one of these.

The first half of the movie is actually quite entertaining.  Some of the tricks are extremely cool (keep telling yourself they’re not just cheap cinematography tricks), and the story moves with the pace of a Formula-1 car.  However, the movie loses steam toward the end of Act II, as it turns into a game of “Who’s playing whom?”.

Let me be the first to diagnose director Leterrier with Shyamalonosis.  Now You See Me is doomed by Leterrier’s obsession with forcing a shocking twist at the expense of the rest of his film.  Like Shyamalan almost always does, Leterrier fails miserably in his quest, completely wasting a promising build-up and decent performances from Eisenberg, Harrelson, and Ruffalo.  A twist only works when it is supported by that which comes before it, and this movie’s not-so-big twist could be easily debunked by any of the scenes that precedes it.  That’s not a twist, it’s a lie.  (Out of respect for those who have yet to see Now You See Me, I’ll refrain from saying anything that might be considered a spoiler.)  M. Night would be proud of you, Louis, but he’s probably the only one.  Even your own mother thinks you stink.

It was great to see Dave Franco in another big release.  He had a respectable role in last year’s 21 Jump Street, but he has yet to reach the notoriety of his brother James.  He is a gifted comedic actor, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing much more if him in the future.  Isla Fisher must be an awesome person to count as a friend.  She’s married to Sacha Baron Cohen, and she seems to be a ton of fun.  However, even with the world’s greatest push-up bra, she’s completely wasted in this movie.  She’s not a great actress, but she can be entertaining and funny when given the opportunity.  Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine should have saved on airfare and sent cardboard cutouts of themselves to the set.  They could not have seemed more uninterested in this movie.  Mélanie Laurent (Shosanna from Inglourious Basterds) is pretty darn close to mesmerizing, but Leterrier did not get out of her what he could or should have.

Should I/Shouldn’t I: Don’t view the title of this movie as an obligation.  Now You See Me (or, maybe, you don’t) is a fun movie, but it doesn’t nearly reach its potential.  You won’t hate it, but you’ll most likely be disappointed.  With so many blockbusters coming out this summer, you’d be better off letting this one slip through the cracks and catching it on HBO next winter.  If you forget to DVR it, feel free to save two hours and just ask me what happens at the end.

Sundae Rating: One scoop