Blu-ray Review: 'The Heat'

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'The Heat' on Blogcritics.

The Heat was recently released on Blu-ray and DVD. The comedy-action movie is the story of a stuck up FBI agent named Ashburn (Sandra Bullock, Gravity) forced to partner with a rough Boston police officer named Mullins (Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids) to take down a drug kingpin. In one another they find friendship while learning something about themselves.

The Heat is a typical buddy cop movie for much of the running time. This time, the cops are women, meant to be novel take on the genre. True, there have not been dozens of female buddy-cop movies, however, the plot is pretty standard fare, so novel, it’s not.

The main draw of The Heat is the casting of  Bullock and McCarthy. They don’t seem a natural pairing, so of course one expects it to be entertaining when the two are thrust together. They are both terrific actresses, and have created two mostly well-defined, layered characters, but the material drags them down.

They are surrounded by a great comedic supporting cast. Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie) plays a fellow agent with a crush on Ashburn. Dan Bakkedahl (Legit) is a creepy albino DEA officer, and his partner is played by Saturday Night Live‘s Taran Killam. MADtv‘s Michael McDonald is a villain, and Back to the Future‘s Tom Wilson is Mullins’ boss. The cast also includes Tony Hale (Arrested Development) and Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). But none of these comedy stars manages to really contribute much of anything major to the movie.

We are introduced to Mullins’ family, constantly bickering and ripping on one another. Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun), Michael Rapaport (Prison Break), Nate Corddry (Harry’s Law), Joey McIntyre (Boston Public), Michael Tucci (Diagnosis Murder), Bill Burr (Breaking Bad), and the comedy duo Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo (Ronna & Beverly) make up the loud-mouthed clan, who frequently improvise. They could easily fill out their own spin-off movie, a la The Klumps, only they’d probably be quite a bit funnier, which, to be fair, isn’t saying much.

Now, with Mullins’ family and a semi-clever twist at the end, The Heat isn’t a complete waste of time. Plus, there are some really nice scenes between McCarthy and Bullock. Overall, though, the film left me feeling a bit empty.

Director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) also co-created Freaks and Geeks, and directed episodes of a ton of great TV shows, including The Office, Arrested Development, and Nurse Jackie. With his record and a great cast, you might think The Heat would be at least amusing.

There are a ton of special features on this release, including additional footage. There are deleted, extended, and alternate scenes. There are also a number of 10-minute segments of themed deleted scenes and bloopers with introductions by Feig. Which means if you do like the film and want more, you can spend hours pouring though the unused footage. Plus, we do get to hear about how the movie was made, and multiple audio commentaries, including one by the Mystery Science Theater 3000 guys, are included.

There is not a strong argument for going Blu-ray over DVD on this one. I always love watching things in the best quality available, of course, but there aren’t really any dark scenes, special effects, or detailed audio bits that beg for high def. Your experience would probably not be much negatively impacted by going with standard definition. Of course, even if nothing really pops in the visual or auditory, clarity is always appreciated, and the Blu-ray is an extremely clear presentation.

The Heat is available now.

"Regional Holiday Music" infects Community

     NBC's Community this week goes into full-Glee parody mode with "Regional Holiday Music." The Greendale glee club is disqualified, and the director, Cory Radison (Taran Killam, Saturday Night Live), asks everyone's favorite study group to fill in. They resist, not wanting to be infected with the evil glee bug. That is, except for Abed (Danny Pudi), who thinks it might make the semester end on a light-hearted note. One by one Abed sucks each of his friends into the gig, but soon realizes that Cory has plans for them far beyond the Christmas pageant, or even Regionals, and Abed must get them out of this mess. Luckily, Abed's friends forgive him in the end. 

     Glee is ripe for parody, of course, though most shows haven't touched it. Ideally, this would be done with a loving hand, since Glee is groundbreaking in many ways, and dear to quite a few people. Instead, Community serves up a big heap of spanking, with no visible sign of affection. If any series other than Community did this, it would be cruel and dismissible. But Community is consistently brilliant, and "Regional Holiday Music" is no different. So for the remainder of this review, forget you are a Glee fan, and just bask in the glory of the witty, highly original joy that Community brings.

     One cannot possibly judge "Regional Holiday Music" and the basis of realism or music quality. So what if Cory claims that after Regionals, they will go to Sectionals? It's funny that he makes up a bunch of other competition names following. The music itself is not catchy or memorable, but it is all originally written specifically for this episode. It stays true to characters, and serves a purpose in the story. Thus, neither of these components will be the criteria when looking at this episode. Story and character is key.

     The first person that Abed recruits is Troy (Donald Glover), of course, who admits that he does everything that Abed does. Then they go for Pierce (Chevy Chase), an easy mark because of his ego. Annie (Alison Brie) is simple to conquer with a little peer pressure, and she, in turn, uses her sexy wiles to court Jeff (Joel McHale). Never mind that Annie comes off as anything but sexy by overdoing the baby stuff; she is super cute and sexy in that outfit. Then Pierce resorts to black stereotypes, bringing in a choir to back up Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown). Finally, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) just won't be the only one left out.

     Each of the main actors gets a chance to shine in "Regional Holiday Music." Brown's contorting face as she tries to resist the allure of the singing children is comedy gold. Glover can handle the raps with flying colors. McHale allows himself to fully commit, something Jeff doesn't often do in any situation. And, of course, Britta's totally horrible wailing can make anyone hate music, made even more clever by the reference to her "Me So Hungry" bit from an earlier episode. Plus, she has a pretty singing voice when the cast does a carol at the end, so it's just pure acting that she sounds so bad.

     Perhaps because they are left out of the glee craziness in Community, the show lets the supporting characters take the end tag. Dean (Jim Rash) and Chang (Ken Jeong) use their names in "Carol of the Bells," joined by a few of the recurring parts. It's humorous, unexpected, and wonderful.

     Also, nice reference to the last year's claymation special when Cory shows Abed his plans for the show!

     What "Regional Holiday Music" brings to mind, in retrospect, is just how in control of the group Abed is. At times, it seems like Abed is an outside observer, studying human interaction, while not really being a part of the species. But in this week's Community, Abed manipulates his subjects. He isn't a passive fly on the wall, but rather, the mad scientist controlling the conditions. And maybe he's been doing that all along. He's an enigma that cannot be defined, but he is also the true central point of the series, as much as Jeff might appear to be in early episodes. He will certainly be the catalyst at the end of the series. Very cool.

     Community is now on hiatus. It will return sometime this winter or spring to NBC, though no return date is yet set.

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     To buy Community DVDs or catch up with streaming episodes, please click here.

Article first published as TV Review: Community - "Regional Holiday Music" on Blogcritics.