I have no problem with remakes. Considering how much it costs to make a movie these days, selling something that people enjoyed the first time makes sense; it's a predictable return on the studio's investment, and it's easy to market a movie that's just like "so-and-so meets such-and- such". So, when a studio wants to remake an 80s buddy-cop comedy, with women in the lead roles, I say why not? There are enough Murphy-Nolte, Gibson-Glover, and Willis-everybody role models out there, how could you go wrong?
Here's how. Instead of ripping off a successful buddy-cop franchise, The Heat has Running Scared meeting The Odd Couple. Instead of a completely unconvincing pairing of a Borscht Belt ham and a tap dancer, they've got Sandra Bullock playing, yet again, a neurotic tight-ass and Melissa McCarty playing, yet again, a foul-mouthed slob. These two completely unlikable, and unbelievable, characters, one an FBI agent who somehow manages to confound detection dogs with her ability to find hidden drugs and weapons despite a complete lack of detection skills, and the other a Boston cop who (somehow) manages to successfully work undercover, in her own neighborhood, despite being morbidly obese, obnoxiously loud, and wearing the same clothes for days at a time. Both are (deservedly) pariahs within their respective departments, who somehow succeed despite their own individual and collective incompetence, and grow to adopt each other's most annoying bad habits. This movie plays to an audience's lowest, dumbest instincts- sadly, it will probably be a hit. Avoid at all costs.
Here's how. Instead of ripping off a successful buddy-cop franchise, The Heat has Running Scared meeting The Odd Couple. Instead of a completely unconvincing pairing of a Borscht Belt ham and a tap dancer, they've got Sandra Bullock playing, yet again, a neurotic tight-ass and Melissa McCarty playing, yet again, a foul-mouthed slob. These two completely unlikable, and unbelievable, characters, one an FBI agent who somehow manages to confound detection dogs with her ability to find hidden drugs and weapons despite a complete lack of detection skills, and the other a Boston cop who (somehow) manages to successfully work undercover, in her own neighborhood, despite being morbidly obese, obnoxiously loud, and wearing the same clothes for days at a time. Both are (deservedly) pariahs within their respective departments, who somehow succeed despite their own individual and collective incompetence, and grow to adopt each other's most annoying bad habits. This movie plays to an audience's lowest, dumbest instincts- sadly, it will probably be a hit. Avoid at all costs.