Belly Laughs: THE HEAT (Interview: Jessica Chaffin & Jamie Denbo)

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

Is it getting easier to make me laugh or are writers getting funnier? I laughed like a fool at This is The End (click for T&T post) and like an idiot at the female cop (Melissa McCarthy) vs female FBI agent (Sandra Bullock) / female cop partnered with FBI agent comedy – The Heat.

Below is a segment I like to call – I couldn’t have said it better myself, where I find sources from the web that echo my sentiments on the movie.  But first…

Denbo & Chaffin at Dave & Busters Philadelphia

Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo, are best known for their “Ronna and Beverly” podcast, in which they play two stereotypically Jewish radio show hosts, as well as the hilarious spoof series called “The Real Housewives of South Boston.” . In The Heat they play two rough–hewn girlfriends hooked up with the brothers of McCarthy’s character.

Tinsel & Tine (me) and a writer from Tell Entertainment, Shawn Kotzen, got to sit down with the two comediennes at Dave & Busters. The below video is just an excerpt of our chat (4:51).

It’s obvious that Jessica & Jamie have a chemistry to rival Sandra & Melissa’s, but it’s not obvious which one is doing the majority of the talking, and I really can’t remember. I do remember asking them a question about having their alter egos (Ronna & Beverly) do a cooking segment, which somehow led to a discussion of Denbo’s ample rack and the fact that her boobs get actual title credit on the film.

THE HEAT REVIEW –
I COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT BETTER MYSELF

McCarthy, as ever, shines here; after being the best thing about two terrible movies this year (“Identity Thief” and “The
Hangover Part III”), she finally gets a vehicle that deserves her. She knows how to use her sizable figure to get laughs without
ever making herself the object of ridicule, and she matches her physical prowess with a genius for verbal comedy. Looking back at Sandra Bullock’s career, it appears that she’s at her best when she’s got a co-star who keeps her on her toes and demands that she perform at a certain level; in any event, McCarthy brings out the Oscar-winner’s best. Her ability to make Sarah never
swear — until, awkwardly, all those backed-up four-letter words come pouring out — is a treat to behold. READ MORE Alsonso Duralde The Wrap

Mirroring a strategy he utilized in “Bridesmaids”, [Director Paul] Feig in The Heat is making the point that women (who are often missing from raunchy comedies) can be just as ribald and shocking as their male counterparts. He’s more overt in his commentary with his new film, which draws attention to the difficulties facing female law enforcement officers in a male-centric culture. READ MORE Tim Grierson Screen
Daily

The violence in the final third becomes a drag. One of these days, we’ll get a buddy-cop lark with the nerve to tone down the sadism; here, it’s a threatened-torture scene, following an emergency tracheotomy performed at a Denny’s. And product placement has gotten pretty strange at the movies lately. Between the pulverized IHOP in “Man of Steel” and the blood-spattered Denny’s in “The Heat,” it’s like: How ’bout eating in tonight? READ MORE  Michael Philips The Chicago Tribune

The hefty McCarthy throws her weight around to considerable comic effect, and few actresses could pull off a scene where her Dirty Harriet-style cop proudly shows off a well-stocked armory in her refrigerator. She also comes equipped with the most dysfunctional Boston family since “The Fighter,’’ including Jane Curtin (under-used as her mother) and Michael Rapaport as a brother she sent to jail for dealing drugs. READ MORE Lou Lumenick The Washington Post

LAMB Score: 4 out of 5

Philly Film Blog