Release Date: July 2, 2014Writer: Ben Falcone, Melissa McCarthy
Director: Ben Falcone
Comedy, 97 min.
Bechdel Test: Passed all three test.
Review
In the spring of 2014 quiet rumors of a comedy sensation swept the nation. Ok, that might be a little melodramatic. But before the release of Tammy, Melissa McCarthy was earning her rank as comedy legend with only a few leading roles under her belt. The idea of McCarthy bringing her own vision to the big screen, with her and her husband writing and directing seemed like a sure bet. The film opened huge. Women could lead the way in comedy.
But with all that hype Tammy feels like a major misstep. The multitude of characters, the adventurous storyline, nothing amounts to anything in the film. The concept and plot are wishy washy, and the comedy suffers. The sweet moments are not funny and the funny moments are often lackluster or crude.
What's ultimately frustrating about Tammy is that the skeleton for a memorable and hilarious comedy is there. Although its hard to define any real plot, its a white trash girl, down on her luck, who finds herself on an adventure with her alcoholic grandmother. Along the way a huge number of minor characters filter in and out with no real significant jokes or impact. Nat Faxon, for example, plays Tammy's cheating husband. His entire role consists of mumbling apologies under his breath instead of delivering a strong memorable character with powerful lines. In the long line of supporing roles, Alison Janny, Sandra Oh, Toni Collette, Mark Duplass, Kathy Bates, Dan Aykroyd, none create engaging characters.
Even the story itself doesn't add up. McCarthy's character Tammy is full of contradictions in an attempt to be funny in whatever scene she's in. Tammy isn't dumb or incapable, she's a "Bad Luck Brian" who is both a functional regular person that's down on their luck, and a total sociopath who is oblivious to other people. She willingly accepts the consequences of breaking a dock while jet-skiing, but holds up a fast food restaurant as if no one will ever notice her when she immediately heads straight into a police station. When at a bar with Bobby, she flirts with him mercilessly as if she's oblivious to his disinterest, but when he becomes genuinely interested, she pumps the breaks and acts as if someone flirting with her is unheard of. All while she's married, by the way. I'm not sure if she has really changed by the end of the film because her character was so undefined.
The only memorable gems in Tammy is Susan Sarandon's character Pearl. She doesn't pull any punches and is really the emotional core of the film. Pearl is everyone's embarrassing family member, who provides sage wisdom, then gets drunk at a party and tries to sing karaoke.
Do I recommend Tammy? No. Not even the charm of Melissa McCarthy can save a scene of deer-murder. It's a valiant effort but it's a movie with the training wheels still on. The one scene of McCarthy holding up a fast food store is the center point of the films marketing, and to a certain extent the movie. But one scene of goofy acting isn't enough to hold up the whole film. I look forward to seeing what Melissa and Ben do in the future, because anything will be better than this.
Portrayal of Women: There's a lot of great female characters. A lot of women supporting women. Friends and family look out for each other. The only bad thing is they are all pretty weak characters. Still, it's nice to see women represented in minor characters who aren't love interests.
Sisterhood Moment: Kathy Bates as Pearl's lesbian cousin who helps smuggle them out of state to hide from the law. I'm so glad to see Bates doing some quality comedy roles. She's outstanding. Her and Sarandon have great chemistry and she's a total badass.
Rating: 1 lonely pie.
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