Sandra Bullock (Demolition Man) and Melissa McCarthy (White Oleander) play law enforcement officers who begrudgingly team up to fight crime in this weekend's new comedy, The Heat. Is The Heat much, much better than the marketing would leave you to believe? As a service to you, we answer every question that you could possibly have about The Heat.
Q: Does The Heat have a weird obsession with the 1978 Goldie Hawn-Chevy Chase movie, Foul Play?
A: Yes.
Q: Will I actually see a scene from Foul Play while I watch The Heat?
A: Yes. You will.
Q: Does Sandra Bullock play a character by the name of Jackie Heat?
A: No. Bullock plays an FBI field agent named Sarah Ashburn.
Q: Does Sarah Ashburn at last bring the heat?
A: Sarah Ashburn is a good FBI agent. So good, in fact, that her fellow agents resent her. This causes problems when Sarah wants a promotion.
Q: How does Sarah wind up being partnered with Melissa McCarthy?
A: As a condition of Sarah's possible promotion, she's sent to Boston to investigate a large drug ring. There, Sarah meets Detective Shannon Mullins (McCarthy).
Q: Do Sarah and Detective Mullins hit it off?
A: No. But then later they do because this is a movie.
Q: Is Mullins a bad police officer?
A: See, this is where The Heat could have gone off the tracks really easily. Instead of making McCarthy's character a sloppy dope, she is also very capable at her job, too. It's just that Sarah Ashburn and Shannon Mullins go about it in very different ways.
Q: If Ashburn is an FBI agent and Mullins is a Boston police detective, how do they become partners?
A: They are not officially partners, but they decide to work together on this case because it would be mutually beneficial.
Q: When does Jim Belushi's character show up?
A: You're thinking of Red Heat.
Q: I love "women in prison" movies, I can't wait to see this.
A: Nope, nope: now you're thinking of Caged Heat.
Q: Does the plot involving the investigation of a drug dealer feature a lot of action?
A: There's a fair amount of action, but The Heat is smart enough not to overdo it.
Q: Do Ashburn and Mullins have the full support of law enforcement behind them?
A: Not really. Actually, two DEA agents -- SNL's Taran Killam and an albino played by Dan Bakkedahl - try to impede their investigation.
Q: An albino?
A: This goes back to The Heat's weird obsession with Foul Play.
Q: Should I watch Foul Play before seeing The Heat?
A: It is not a prerequisite, but a resurgence of the popularity of the movie Foul Play based on its appearance in The Heat would be remarkable.
Q: Is the actor who plays Biff Tannen in Back to the Future in The Heat?
A: Yes. Thomas F. Wilson is in The Heat.
Q: Is Joey McIntyre from New Kids on the Block in The Heat?
A: Yes.
Q: At any point is the song "Cover Girl" performed during The Heat?
A: No. McIntyre is not playing himself, he's playing a relative of Detective Mullins.
Q: Will it depress me to learn that Joey McIntyre is 40-years-old?
A: A lot.
Q: Is The Heat the funniest movie of the summer?
A: No, that's still This is the End, but The Heat makes a serious run for that title.
Q: Is The Heat funnier than Bridesmaids?
A: The Heat is director Paul Feig's follow-up to Bridesmaids. The answer is "no," but it's not really a fair question because Bridesmaids became almost a cultural phenomenon of its own. The Heat won't do that, but it is a very solid summer comedy.
Q: What's the best thing about The Heat?
A: Even though the awful Identity Thief made a ton of money, it was worrisome that the ultra-talented Mellissa McCarthy was going to be saddled with dumb post-Bridesmaids roles. Re-teaming with Feig was a good move for McCarthy because her role in The Heat is well-written and smart.
Q: Is The Heat suitable for the entire family?
A: Good grief, no.
Q: The commercials for The Heat make it look like an almost family-friendly comedic romp.
A: The Heat is rated R and earns every single bit of its R rating. The Heat is a surprisingly raunchy movie. I mean this as a compliment.
Q: If I'm going to see one action comedy this weekend, should I see The Heat or White House Down?
A: This is a tough one. The Heat is more about the comedy and White House Down is funny, but its focus is on the action. I will say that it's a good thing to have a movie like The Heat, which focuses on two female leads in interesting and funny roles. If nothing else, The Heat is by far the more important movie between these two choices.
Q: If I don't think I'd like the sight of a very bloody tracheotomy being performed, should I see The Heat?
A: Probably not.
Mike Ryan is senior writer for Huffington Post Entertainment. You can contact him directly on Twitter.
