Director Paul Feig makes refreshingly nice comedies. There’s not a mean-spirited bone in his body. Not for a second does he ever poke fun at his characters. The creator behind one of the greatest and sweetest shows ever to grace television, “Freaks & Geeks,” loves all his characters – the screw-ups, the underdogs and even the bullies. That empathy has carried over to his feature film work. Although the laughs and appealing spirit of “Bridesmaids” was missing in “The Heat,” he’s quickly rebounded with “Spy,” a ferociously funny Melissa McCarthy star vehicle.

Susan Cooper (McCarthy) once dreamed of life as a CIA field agent. She imagined action, romance and intrigue. Instead of trotting the globe and saving the world, Susan performs her heroics behind a desk. The CIA analyst is super-spy Bradley Fine’s (Jude Law) eyes and ears. When the CIA’s top agents’ identities are exposed, though, Susan gets her chance to get out into the field. But putting the fate of the world into her hands doesn’t sit well with everybody – most notably, Rick Ford (Jason Statham), a spy who doesn’t believe he has any weaknesses. Ford and Cooper butt heads as she tracks down Bulgarian arms dealer Rayna Boyanov (Rose Byrne), who plans on selling a miniature nuclear weapon to the highest bidder.

As expected, Feig’s script is sharp. Never does “Spy” become parody or satire. The writer/director manages to poke fun at some genre conventions – Ford is James Bond and Jason Bourne combined, with some steroids thrown in for good measure – but never to the point where they overwhelm the emotional core and broad stakes of the film. Yes, “Spy” is a comedy, but Feig makes the action scenes have a real sense of danger. The violence is surprisingly and often comically brutal. Feig not only takes advantage of the R-rating in the language department, but also with bloodshed.

Anyone worried about how the director is going to fare with the upcoming “Ghostbusters” movie, worry no more. Feig actually has some real action chops as a filmmaker: there’s almost always a clear sense of geography in the action scenes; the set pieces move plot and character forward; and even when “Spy” gets bloody, there’s still tonally appropriate laughs. Even after seeing someone’s throat melt, Feig interjects a terrific joke that doesn’t undo the horror of that sight.

In many ways, Feig has grown as a filmmaker. He’s a very clever storyteller, but he’s not without his indulgences. Like “The Heat” and, to a lesser extent, “Bridesmaids”, “Spy” is bloated. The two-hour film has about 100 minutes of plot. Towards the big climax, the film becomes a tad exhausting. There’s a redundant twist that takes up more time than it should, jokes go on longer than they need to, and even the post-credits scene doesn’t know when to stop. Less is more, as shown by the film’s finest jokes.

Melissa McCarthy is terrific. She makes Susan an easy character to root for, and Feig gives her a genuine arc. Susan’s big emotional moment in the third act isn’t careless or just thrown in there, as is the case with most comedies. Her journey was carefully considered, making her funnier and more human. The real stars of the show, though, are Rose Byrne and, playing a flirty Italian spy, Peter Serafinowicz. Jason Statham is very funny, but almost too prominent at times, while Serafinowicz is used perfectly in small doses. Not a single line that comes out of his or Byrne’s mouth falls flat.

“Spy” rarely goes for an easy joke; there are so many wonderful setups and payoffs. On top of that, hardly any gags come from McCarthy falling down. There’s nothing lazy about “Spy.” Despite the bloat, Paul Feig’s latest is a smart and often heartfelt comedy.

With the exception of the 1988 comedy “Feds” (and to a certain degree, the “Charlie’s Angels” films), the buddy cop movie has been an exclusively male-dominated genre. It’s only a matter of time before Hollywood finally gets its act together and delivers a great female-centric action comedy, but “The Heat” is not that film. Though fans of Paul Feig’s “Bridesmaids” will likely enjoy his latest R-rated romp with Melissa McCarthy, anyone that wasn’t already sick and tired of the actress definitely will be after sitting through two hours of her annoyingly boorish and over-the-top brand of humor. “Identity Thief” should have been the final nail in the coffin of America’s love affair with McCarthy, but if her irritating performance in “The Heat” doesn’t put an end to that reign, then the moviegoing public deserves more lowbrow comedies just like it.

Sandra Bullock stars as FBI agent Sarah Ashburn, an arrogant overachiever who’s up for a big promotion in her department. But while she’s the perfect candidate on paper, Sarah still hasn’t earned the respect of her peers, whom she frequently humiliates during busts. To prove that she’s a team player and the right person for the job, Sarah’s boss (Demian Bichir) sends her to Boston, where she must partner up with local detective Shannon Mullins (McCarthy) to bring down a ruthless drug lord. Unfortunately, no one actually knows what the guy looks like, but Sarah has much bigger problems in the form of the uncouth Mullins, whose sloppy demeanor and unconventional methods clash with her straight-laced, by-the-books personality.

It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal that they eventually learn to get along, but that’s because like most films in the buddy cop genre, there’s a pretty strict formula to follow, and “The Heat” doesn’t stray too far from those decade-old clichés. What separates the good movies from the bad ones are the characters, and neither Sarah nor Shannon is very likable. That’s rare for Bullock, who’s usually charming even when she shouldn’t be (i.e. “The Proposal“), but this variation of her “Miss Congeniality” character is incredibly dull, perhaps in order to make McCarthy’s counterpart appear more wild in comparison. Sadly, McCarthy is just doing the same tired act from “Bridesmaids” and “Identity Thief,” once again playing the slovenly outcast who doesn’t seem to have any consequences for her actions. In some respects, she’s even worse than the criminals she’s arresting, and yet we’re supposed to laugh with her in spite of that.

Vulgarity doesn’t automatically equal comedy, but McCarthy apparently didn’t receive the memo, because her performance is comprised entirely of crass, profanity-laced dialogue and the sort of unprofessional behavior that would get you fired several times over in the real world. McCarthy’s acting is so poor that she can’t even feign a Boston accent, despite the fact that every member of her stereotypical Irish family (including an underused Jane Curtain and Bill Burr, to name a few) has the same wicked awesome inflection. New York Observer film critic Rex Reed has been lambasted over the past few months for making some hurtful comments about McCarthy in his review of “Identity Thief,” and rightfully so, because attacking someone for their weight is not only a cheap blow, but really distasteful, especially when there are far more constructive things that he could have called her out on, like being an obnoxious, one-trick pony.

McCarthy is trying so hard to be funny that it feels forced most of the time, and as a result, Feig never looks like he’s in control. “Bridesmaids” may be overrated, but at least it has some genuine moments of laughter and a decent story at its core. “The Heat,” meanwhile, never merits more than a few chuckles, and a major reason for that is the overdependence on McCarthy’s loud-mouthed buffoon. It’s supposed to be hilarious, except that it’s not. You know what would have been funny? If Bullock and McCarthy had switched roles. At least then we could have seen both actresses do something a little different for once, and it probably would have led to a more entertaining movie. Instead, we got “Miss Congeniality 3: Boston Boogaloo.”