Let’s get this out of the way: how many major Hollywood films this summer have female leads? Note the plural form—we’re not talking about having a female co-lead. If you answered “one,” you’re correct. The Heat, starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, is Hollywood’s obligatory female-led film of the summer. It’s also one of the flat-out funniest films of the year, period. Between Bridesmaids and Identity Thief, McCarthy has already made her case as one of the funniest women in film, and she only cements that here with an intense, anarchic turn. Bullock, meanwhile, has played uptight and neurotic before, but she’s never been paired up with quite as polar opposite a performer as she is here. With both performers in roles that allow them to expand on their most notable characteristics, they take what would otherwise be a standard-fare buddy cop flick and turn it into a riotous tour de force for both actresses.