[In Theaters: REVIEW] THE HEAT (4/10)

Paul Feig, how the mighty have fallen. Bridesmaids was an excellent summer comedy that brought Melissa McCarthy to national attention: The Heat is exactly the kind of move Hollywood makes all the time; take what works and do more of it to excess. And speaking of excess – there’s a lot of excessive force: I don’t get why police brutality and excessive force is fodder for comedy – oh because it’s a fat chick doing it - instead of Woody Harrelson? That ain’t right!

Sandra Bullock plays her normal straight edge self, FBI Special Agent Ashburn whose excellent at her job – she’s kept down by the men of course, most of which are both clueless and have no balls. Paul Feig enjoys emasculation as comedy – it’s lazy but truth be told it lands a few laughs. McCarthy plays Shannon Mullins, an officer working the beat in a rough East Boston neighborhood who once arrested her own brother to try to get him help for a drug addiction. Her tactics are rough, including assaulting a family man (a sadly under-used Tony Hale) who was cruising for prostitutes in Mullins hood. She brings in a low-level dealer linked to Ashburn’s investigation and neither one cedes ground going to all sorts of lengths to bring in their perp. These include many ins and outs, through thick and thin the unlikely duo – dubbing themselves “the heat” bond and take on the system.

We’ve seen this before and while The Heat has a few laughs the rhythm and pace are truth be told a little off: its running time is a little too long and Feig is certainly not the action director that Michael Bay is. The screenplay by Katie Dippold hits all the beats you’d expect from this concept with a slight feminist twist. It’s too mainstream to go all the way and risk alienate part of its audience, so where’s the fun in that? The Heat is essentially an R-rated, test marketed to death sitcom by committee: Hollywood does need women in powerful roles, but it doesn't justify just how brainless this movie is.

So here’s the deal: The Heat is exactly the movie you think it will be. You might like it: good for you, here’s some venues that’ll gladly accept your $9-10.50:

Screening: Dipson Market Arcade, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit, Regal Hollywood 12, Transit Drive In