Tammy Review

Rated R (Language including Sexual References)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 36 Minutes

Cast-

Melissa McCarthy-Tammy

Susan Sarandon-Pearl

Mark Duplass-Bobby

Kathy Bates-Lenore

Sandra Oh-Susanne

Allison Janney-Deb

Dan Aykroyd-Don

Gary Cole-Earl

Nat Faxon-Greg

Toni Collette-Missi

Ben Falcone-Keith Morgan

Sarah Baker-Becky

Rich Williams-Larry

Mark L. Young-Jesse

Mia Rose Frampton-Karen

Directed by Ben Falcone

Melissa McCarthy and Susan Sarandon hit the road in the R-rated comedy "Tammy."

Note: Screened on Monday, June 23, 2014 at AMC Empire 25.

When Melissa McCarthy was cast as Lorelai Gilmore's endearingly klutzy best friend Sookie St. James on The WB dramedy "Gilmore Girls" fourteen years ago, few could've predicted the actress becoming a major box office powerhouse in comedy. McCarthy appeared in almost every episode during the show's critically-acclaimed seven-year run and she parlayed that success into a steady career on television. Following a supporting role on the short-lived ABC sitcom "Samantha Who?", McCarthy was cast in early 2010 as the female lead on the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly." A year later, "Bridesmaids" happened. As the foul-mouthed Megan, McCarthy stole scene after scene with her character's increasingly ridiculous antics, which included defecating into a sink, driving a minivan full of stolen puppies, and brazenly propositioning an air marshal, played by her husband Ben Falcone. Her hilarious performance led to an Academy Award and BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress but she lost both to Octavia Spencer from "The Help." "Bridesmaids" opened quite a lot of doors for McCarthy, with 2013 proving to be a banner year for the actress. She had a memorable cameo in the largely mediocre "The Hangover Part III" and both "Identity Thief" and "The Heat" were big hits at the box office, grossing a combined $403.8 million worldwide. With her status as a comedy superstar now cemented, the next step was to naturally write and direct a comic vehicle for herself. However, the directing part didn't quite pan out due to her television commitments but her latest film "Tammy" bears her personal stamp as she produced and co-wrote the script with her husband, who is making his directorial debut here. While McCarthy has always been a talented and funny actress, "Tammy" unfortunately represents a misstep for the comedienne as the film is never quite sure what it wants to be, resulting in a meandering picture that offers few laughs.

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a very bad day. One minute she's driving down the road, munching on a bag of Cheetos and jamming to The Outfield's Your Love, and the next she's almost totaled her car after hitting a deer head on. The incident makes Tammy late for work, leading to her being fired from her minimum-wage job at (fictional) fast food restaurant Topper Jack's. While driving back home, her car suddenly breaks down, forcing her to walk the rest of the way. When she finally drags herself through the door of her house, she finds her husband Greg (Nat Faxon) enjoying a romantic meal with their neighbor Missi (Toni Collette). Fed up with her horrible life, Tammy does what she does best: run away from her problems. She tells her mother Deb (Allison Janney)—who lives a whopping two houses down the street—that she's taking her car and leaving town. Deb refuses, telling her daughter that this is just another temper tantrum and that she always comes back despite her threats to leave for good. Tammy's diabetic, hard-drinking grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) offers up her car and life savings but on the condition that she ride shotgun. Hitting the road with a vague destination set for Niagara Falls, the pair quickly gets sidetracked on a series of silly escapades, with Tammy and Pearl attempting to work out the differences they've had in the past while taking a long, hard look at what they want from their futures.

You'll get a few chuckles here and there but "Tammy" unfortunately won't leave you in stitches.

Comedy films are supposed to make viewers laugh but the humor in "Tammy" is disappointingly middling. Although you'll get a chuckle here and there, I honestly can't point to one single moment that left me in stiches. One scene that's been front and center in the film's marketing campaign is when the titular character robs a local Topper Jack's as she needs the money to bail her grandmother out of jail. It won't exactly have you guffawing in your seat but this is by far the funniest scene, with Tammy crudely disguising herself with a greasy paper bag with eyeholes and crumpling another paper bag in her hand to make it look like a concealed gun. She also approaches the fast food restaurant dancing to the tune of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' 2012 song Thrift Shop. Much of the humor in this scene is derived from Tammy's interactions with her two hapless hostages (one of them played by a delightful Sarah Baker) as she orders them around, demanding that they empty their cash registers and hand over a stack of fresh apple pies while strangely bonding with them at the same time. Unfortunately, that's really it as far as laughs go, with the film playing it too safe and feeling like it's constantly holding back in spite of the R-rating. "Tammy" seems to promise lewd, outrageous humor yet doesn't deliver.

The thin plot is meant to give the cast ample room to improvise but it instead leaves the film feeling directionless. "Tammy" is a road-trip comedy and such stories are meant to be journeys of self-discovery. I understand that the main character is at a crossroads in her life and the story mirrors the messy state she's currently in yet there's little connective tissue here, with Tammy and Pearl's misadventures looking more like a bunch of random scenes edited together to fill the running time to ninety minutes. However, the biggest problem is that first-time director Ben Falcone doesn't seem to have a clear vision of what kind of film he wants to make. The first half contains all the silly foul-mouthed, physical hijinks we've come to expect from McCarthy and the second half abruptly transitions into a dramedy, complete with tacked-on life lessons about taking responsibility for yourself and to stop blaming others for your own shortcomings. While these are themes worthy of exploration, they're unfortunately not afforded the nuance that they deserve due to a script that's too loose and undercooked. "Tammy" sports an airtight premise: funny woman takes funny road-trip with funny grandmother. Sadly, there are too many stretches where the film listlessly drags on, bereft of laughs. Still, this isn't an outright awful picture, just a very disappointing one given all the talent involved.

This much-advertised scene is by far the film's funniest moment. Sadly, it's the only one.

Keeping "Tammy" watchable is Melissa McCarthy as the titular character. Whether she's performing ridiculous acts of buffoonery or baring her soul to others, McCarthy nails it all seemingly without any effort and it just goes to show how talented an actress she is despite working with middling material. Playing Tammy's grandmother Pearl is Susan Sarandon, whose casting is certainly not an accident given her role in 1991's "Thelma & Louise," which also had a road-trip premise. Donning grey curls and a few extra wrinkles, Sarandon is clearly having a lot of fun playing a boozing, hard-partying grandmother yet the character never feels outrageous enough. She also doesn't quite gel with McCarthy, especially when compared to the comedienne's previous comic pairings with Jason Bateman and Sandra Bullock. The supporting cast is full of big names in the comedy biz such as Mark Duplass, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, Sandra Oh, Gary Cole, Nat Faxon, and Toni Collette. With the exception of Duplass' turn as Tammy's amiable love interest Bobby, all of them are unfortunately wasted, especially Collette as she has nary a line of dialogue! The only explanation for their involvement is that they just happen to be good friends with McCarthy and Falcone.

Released on July 2, 2014, "Tammy" has received largely negative reviews with 27% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that 'Melissa McCarthy remains an engaging screen presence, but her efforts aren't enough to keep [this] jumbled [film] on track.' Warner Brothers didn't seem all that confident either because the studio rep informed me that I wasn't allowed to post my reactions online until the release date! He wouldn't be saying that if the film was good. The audience at the advance screening didn't really laugh much either. However, even if "Tammy" isn't quite the box office hit that McCarthy's previous films were, it'll still turn a profit since the production budget was only $20 million. Despite the negative response, McCarthy's career isn't likely to slow down but she can definitely do a lot better than "Tammy." Hopefully she'll take this as a learning experience the next time she collaborates with her husband.

Final Rating: 2.5 out of 5

"I lost my job, my car's on fire and Greg is screwing our neighbor. I'm getting out of this stupid town for good!"