Recommended film: The Heat

[firecat]

The Heat is a buddy cop movie set in Boston starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. I thought it was really funny, and the humor does not rely on fat jokes (McCarthy is fat), fat stereotypes, sexual assault or harrassment.[1] There are some jokes based on appearance, and a lot of jokes based on class.

Normally I wouldn't see this type of movie in the theater but I did because wanted to reward the producers for making a film of this type that stars women.

There are spoilers in the comments.

[1]ETA: Add "against women". There were jokes about sexual harrassment of men.

Comments

Lack of fat stereotyping

[firecat]

There is one fat joke early in the film, where McCarthy's character can't get out of her car because it's hemmed in by other cars.

McCarthy's character is shown eating once early in the film. I started to get annoyed until I saw that she was eating a bell pepper.

She brushes off a couple of guys she slept with who are sad that she didn't call them afterward. She kisses one of them.

[firecat]

I am pissed off at the Salon reviewer Andrew O'Hehir for opening his review with "Nothing quite says female empowerment like violating the civil rights of criminal suspects, am I right?" and "What is the point of making a movie that’s just like the dopiest, broadest and most reductive grade of guy-oriented comedy, except with women?"

Because of course movies starring women need to be held to a higher moral standard. Only guys should get to play foul-mouthed vigilante cops. Am I right?

Guessing that O'Hehir is white, I'm also guessing that he never felt the lack of seeing people like himself on the movie screen.

Re: Lack of fat stereotyping

[julian]

Yeah. I was very pleased by the lack of it. Bullock's character got some unfunny "jokes" early on about her sexuality/lack of it/general failure as a "feminine" person. Once they stopped with that, it was pretty OK.

[julian]

Overall, it was a weirdly paced movie and was basically a bunch of vignettes, but I loved McCarthy, liked Bullock OK, and some of the supporting cast were fun.

And I went to see it to support female buddy movies, too.

[flarenut]

This. You know that some kind of parity has been reached, not when the best of some discriminated-against group finally get to show how great they are, but when the mediocrities of that group reach high position the way that mediocrities of the dominant group do. (And saying nothing about the abilities of these particular women, rather that they get to make fun stupid movies too.)

(Now I am trying to think of a woman or a person of color as aggressively mediocre as GWB who might reasonably be considered an indicator of a true post-racial or post-gender-wars presidency.)

Re: Lack of fat stereotyping

[firecat]

I also could have done without the albino jokes, but at least they were subverting the trope.

[firecat]

Exactly.

[zeborah]

Every now and then I turn to the movies page in the newspaper, count the number of identifiably female characters vs identifiably male characters in the blurbs, and go away to read a book.

(It often approaches parity for romance, but *two* identifiably female characters? Unheard of!)

I'm going to see if my sister wants to go with me for this. (So far I'm betting yes.)

[ironed_orchid]

I saw a poster and thought it looked awful until I realised it was Melissa McCarthy, and then I kinda wanted to see it. So thanks for the endorsement.

[firecat]

count the number of identifiably female characters vs identifiably male characters in the blurbs, and go away to read a book.

Exactly.

[firecat]

Melissa convinced me to see it, too. Along with someone mentioning no fat jokes.

Lack of fat stereotyping

[firecat]

There is one fat joke early in the film, where McCarthy's character can't get out of her car because it's hemmed in by other cars.

McCarthy's character is shown eating once early in the film. I started to get annoyed until I saw that she was eating a bell pepper.

She brushes off a couple of guys she slept with who are sad that she didn't call them afterward. She kisses one of them.

[firecat]

I am pissed off at the Salon reviewer Andrew O'Hehir for opening his review with "Nothing quite says female empowerment like violating the civil rights of criminal suspects, am I right?" and "What is the point of making a movie that’s just like the dopiest, broadest and most reductive grade of guy-oriented comedy, except with women?"

Because of course movies starring women need to be held to a higher moral standard. Only guys should get to play foul-mouthed vigilante cops. Am I right?

Guessing that O'Hehir is white, I'm also guessing that he never felt the lack of seeing people like himself on the movie screen.

[bunnybutt.livejournal.com]

I saw this in the theater for the same reasons you did. Loved. It.

Re: Lack of fat stereotyping

[cheshyre]

FYI/FWIW, the one she kisses is the actress's RL husband.

[Also, my husband's aunt played Tatiana's mother, who had one brief but memorable scene.]

[cheshyre]

Director Feig also pointed out that he *purposely* avoided having either character fall in love over the course of the film as a way of showing that women's comedy doesn't have to be a "romcom."

Re: Lack of fat stereotyping

[firecat]

How cool!

[firecat]

Yes, I really appreciated that choice.

Re: Lack of fat stereotyping

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

I'd argue that the "can't get out of the car" thing is a parking joke, not a fat joke. I didn't get a sense that her awkwardness in climbing out of her window, then into the window of the car next to her was supposed to be related to her being fat, but just that it's really hard and annoying to do for ANYBODY. It's definitely slapstick-like physical comedy, but I don't think it would have been filmed differently if Sandra Bullock was the subject of the scene. Her door barely opens two inches -- even Twiggy wouldn't have been able to get out of that car.

Would it have PLAYED differently, or been received differently if the person climbing out of the window wasn't fat? I don't know. I think I would have enjoyed it the same, but I can't speak for any other audience.

[selki.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review! Now I'm more interested in seeing this.

Re: Lack of fat stereotyping

[firecat]

I agree it is primarily a parking joke. But people like me who are ultrasensitive to fat jokes might see it that way, too.