THE HEAT (Rated R)

Melissa McCarthy has already mastered both verbal and physical comedy, having put her considerable talents on display in a big role (no pun intended) in director Paul Feig’s outrageously funny “Bridesmaids.”

“The Heat” reunites both the director and the outsized comedic actress for a hilarious buddy cop film, a genre that usually involves men. Offhand, I can’t think of another female buddy cop film.

Playing the part of the caustic, profane and erratic Boston beat cop Shannon Mullins, Melissa McCarthy is very much in her comfort zone as an abrasive and combative enforcer of the law.

The physical and mental toughness of Officer Mullins is established in opening scenes where she scares the wits out of petty drug dealers and streetwise prostitutes in encounters that quickly set up the film’s comedic premise.
 
Back at the police, her colleagues cower in fear of her constant harangues and bullying tactics. Her weary, gray-haired sergeant plaintively wails that he’s only 43 years old and his 5-year-old son calls him “Grandpa.”

Obviously, Mullins enjoys barking like a mad dog, pushing people around and acting impulsively, unafraid to look foolish in the process.

Frustrated that she’s has to park her beat up car in a tight spot between two police cars, she climbs through her window through the adjacent squad car in order to exit. Watching her maneuver with a lack of grace is typical of the slapstick humor.

After collaring a criminal by knocking him out with a watermelon, Mullins finds that her investigation into a drug ring is being hijacked by an FBI agent claiming federal jurisdiction.

The federal agent is Sandra Bullock’s Sarah Ashburn, an uptight, straight-laced stickler for abiding by rules and regulations, who wears dull, shapeless pants suits with an attitude to match.

Ashburn is the complete opposite of Mullins, who most often is seen wearing a T-shirt for the Pawtucket Red Sox, looking more like a dock worker unloading fishing boats in Boston harbor than an undercover cop.

Dispatched to Boston from the home office in New York, Ashburn has no friends, even at work, while at home she can only get occasional company by borrowing the neighbor’s cat.

From the very start, Ashburn and Mullins are practically at each other’s throats, displaying an unwillingness to work together that creates even more friction in the workplace.

Playing by the rules, Ashburn wants to minimize the use of force and disfavors the rough interrogation techniques used by her colleague. Mullins is likely unfamiliar with the Miranda rights.

We’re not even sure if Ashburn has ever fired her sidearm, while Mullins stocks the refrigerator of her shabby apartment with an impressive arsenal of weaponry, including assault rifles and a rocket launcher.

For a movie full of funny scenes, one of the best may be when Ashburn and Mullins go undercover at a sleazy dance club as they stalk a drug dealer cavorting with a bevy of hot women.

To turn Ashburn into something of a sex object to attract the attention of their target, Mullins rips apart her colleague’s uptight business clothes in the ladies room, trying to make the agent look more like a trashy club patron.

Not surprisingly, Mullins’ family is a screwball bunch of stereotypical South Boston brawling Irish louts, who remain irate that Mullins put her own brother (Michael Rapaport) in jail.

When not confronting various bad guys, much of the film consists of Mullins trying to pierce the veneer of Ashburn’s aloofness. A night of hard partying at an Irish dive bar does a lot to loosen up the FBI agent.

“The Heat” is rated R, primarily for language, or to be more precise, for trash-talking gutter talk, courtesy of the foul-mouthed Mullins who talks a greater blue streak than a crew of sailors on shore leave.

From the motor-mouthed Melissa McCarthy, the salty tirade of gratuitous insults and barbed witticism is provocatively funny. McCarthy’s Mullins is comic gold.

For her part, Sandra Bullock is a revelation, though she’s done comedy before. Here she’s a great comic foil, and an even better partner for the “odd couple” pairing with McCarthy.

“The Heat” is a laugh riot and insanely funny, and it is all thanks to the brilliant stroke of teaming of Bullock and McCarthy for a buddy film that, though mildly formulaic, delivers a crowd-pleasing comic gem.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

COBB, Calif. – Cobb Mountain Artists' Second Wednesday Artist series presents Alethea Eason on July 10.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place beginning at 7 p.m. at the The Artisan Realm, 16365 Highway 175.

Come and hear Eason speak about her writing and see her current art pieces.

One of Eason's many recent reviews said, “Alethea Eason is a master storyteller, weaving subtle lessons about relationships, self-identity, and ethnic tolerance into a story filled with intrigue and wonder.

Her newest book, “Heron's Path,” has the grace of the river Talum that flows through its pages. Step into the world of Katy and her delicate sister Celeste where native ways are threatened by “civilization,” and the Old Ones haunt the forest with their longing to return to their true home.

For more information contact Glenneth Lambert at 707-295-6934 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Here’s a splendid poem by James Doyle, who lives in Colorado, about the way children make up mythic selves that will in some way serve them in life. To create one’s self as a palm reader is only one of many possibilities.

In the Planetarium

I read the palms of the other
kids on the field trip to see
which ones would grow up

to be astronauts. The lifeline
on Betty Lou’s beautiful hand
ended the day after tomorrow,

so I told her how the rest
of our lives is vastly over-rated,
even in neighboring galaxies.

When she asked me how I knew
so much, I said I watched
War of the Worlds six times

and, if she went with me to
the double-feature tomorrow,
I’d finish explaining the universe.

I smiled winningly. The Halley’s Comet
lecture by our teacher whooshed in
my one ear and out the other.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation ( www.poetryfoundation.org ), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright 2012 by James Doyle, from his most recent book of poems, The Long View Just Keeps Treading Water, Accents Publishing, 2012. Poem reprinted by permission of James Doyle and the publisher. Introduction copyright 2013 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. They do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The Lower Lake Historical School Preservation Committee will host its 20th annual Quilt and Textile Arts Exhibition from Saturday, Aug. 3, through Saturday, Aug. 31, in the Weaver Auditorium at the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum.

The public is invited to bring quilts and fiber artwork for display.

Items will be accepted at the museum during regular business hours, 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday.

The Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum is located at 16435 Main St.

For more information call 707-995-3565.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Sunday, July 7, the Soper-Reese Community Theatre will celebrate “A Brazilian Summer.”

Doors open at 6:30 p.m., music starts at 7 p.m. at the theater, located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.

“A Brazilian Summer” features Elena Casanova, Brazilian singer Lilia Lobo de Albuquerque, with Grammy Award winning woodwind musican Paul McCandless, local favorites Will Siegel on guitar, Ellie Siegel on mandolin, Steve Baird on bass, Kim Atkinson on percussion and special guests Adrian and Briana Hanson.

This will be a great evening of Samba, Bossa and Brazilian Choros featuring the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim, Joao Bosco, Ernesto Nazareth and a few other surprises.

All tickets will be $15 reserved seating. Table seating can be reserved prior to the day of the show.

Well known for her energetic style, Casanova has dazzled audiences for more than 10 years at the popular Professional Pianist Concerts in Lake and Mendocino counties as well as appearances with local symphony orchestras and solo concerts.

McCandless, well known for his silky improvisations on the sax and clarinet, has long been a local supporter of live music.

Will and Ellie Siegel, Steve Baird and Kim Atkinson have been playing music with many local music greats, including Alex Degrassi, Paul McCandless and Spencer Brewer.

This special mix of musical talent is sure to get your feet moving. With the dance floor open for your enjoyment and beer and wine available you’re sure to have a relaxing and entertaining evening at the Soper-Reese.

Tickets are $15 and available at The Travel Center in the Shoreline Shopping Center, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; at the theater box office on Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and two hours before show time on the day of all events.

Tickets also can be purchased online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .

WORLD WAR Z (Rated PG-13)

The fact that “World War Z” is rated PG-13 may be more informative than the film’s advertising about the frightening aspects of a global zombie invasion.

Most zombie films are full of blood and gore. “World War Z,” directed by Marc Forster, relies on suspense and gnawing tension, as the zombie contagion spreads quickly into an almost irreversible apocalyptic demise of the Earth.

This is not George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.” It’s not even what Quentin Tarantino would likely envision if he had the chance. The use of blood and gore is minimal.

The film opens with Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane, a retired United Nations investigator and global troubleshooter, making breakfast for his wife Karen (Mireille Enos) and two young daughters.

The morning TV news talks about a rabies outbreak in some desolate region of the globe. Nothing appears to be completely out of the ordinary, but we are left waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop, and it does soon.

All hell breaks loose during the morning rush-hour drive in downtown Philadelphia, as Gerry chauffeurs his family. At first, police helicopters cruise above and motorcycle cops rush through the streets.

Then complete panic and havoc reigns, as cars are overturned and hordes of zombies chase down pedestrians and pull people from their cars. The transformation to the undead state takes only a matter of seconds.

Gerry’s experience with terrorism in global hotspots like Chechnya and Africa serves him well to get his family to temporary safety outside the city.

His former employers beseech him to join their efforts to battle the zombie plague. But first, there’s the terrifying matter of trying to reach a safe zone in Newark for a helicopter extraction.

Once onboard an aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean, Gerry’s family is granted sanctuary as long as Gerry agrees to join a task force to hunt down the source of the contagion.

Now bearded and long-haired, Gerry looks more like a surfer than the savior of the human race. There’s no explanation as to why he’s the essential guy to do a job that would seem to require scientific or medical training.

Nevertheless, Gerry is immediately dispatched to an Army base in South Korea where it is suspected the outbreak began. Meanwhile, North Korea figured out a way to address the threat, one that would be a boon for dentures.

Apparently, zombies are stirred to action at the sound of the slightest bit of noise, and so Gerry barely makes it back on to his plane and safely out of Korea.

His next destination is Israel, a country that is faring well, for the moment, in the war against the undead, particularly in the walled city of Jerusalem.

In what looks like the siege of an ancient medieval city, the zombie attack on Jerusalem, where the sheer number of the undead allows a pyramid of bodies to breach the wall, is one of the film’s most chilling action pieces.

Gerry teams up with brave yet wounded female Israeli soldier Segen (Daniella Kertesz) to get to the airport, catching the last commercial flight out of a city that is rapidly falling into the clutches of the flesh-eating zombies.

With the help of his new colleague, Gerry is hoping to make it a remote World Health Organization facility, where reportedly a group of scientists have isolated themselves from other colleagues already infected.

The airplane ride turns out to be another exciting action piece, which is better left as a surprise. I will say, however, that riding first-class is a better idea than coach.

OK, a very implausible thing occurs, but Gerry and Segen, against all odds, make it to the WHO’s medical research facility, where the key to saving the human race may be found in a lab occupied by zombies.

The trick, of course, is for Gerry to figure out a way to sneak into an undead-infested facility to retrieve toxic substances that may, or may not, prove effective in repelling the zombies.

Interestingly, the film’s climax doesn’t fit the chaotic, action-filled sequences that came before, when the fight against the zombies involved plenty of brute force.

And yet, “World War Z” sustains its thrilling suspense to the very end. In fact, when Gerry inoculates himself and stares down a zombie madly clicking his teeth, it’s just as exciting.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.