Movie Review: Tammy


Tammy is the newest vehicle from Melissa McCarthy and her actor/director/husband, Ben Falcone, and its cast list is rather impressive: in addition to McCarthy and Falcone, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Alison Janney, Mark Duplass, and Dan Aykroyd (cameo role) star. Unfortunately, even though the film is written by McCarthy and Falcone, it isn't as funny as it should be, and it joins the list of other ho-hum summer 2014 movies that have premiered so far.

Tammy (McCarthy) is literally a hot mess. She works at a burger chain, she has recently found out her husband (Nat Faxon) is cheating on her with their neighbor (Toni Collette), and she hit a deer on her way to work, thus rendering her car-less. Things hit the fan when she gets fired from her job by her boss (Falcone), and she and her grandmother (Sarandon) decide to take a road trip. Things only get weirder from there, and the two embark on a buddy adventure, even though they aren't particularly buddies in some scenes.

There are definitely a few scenes in this movie that were hilarious and worth mentioning. Tammy admits she had a mini affair with the "ice cream man," and Sarandon asks her if she did it for the free ice cream; her response: "... not at first." Kathy Bates' character shows up midway through the movie as a cousin of Sarandon's character, who lives with her partner (played by Sandra Oh), who is also a pyromaniac, and that provides some comedy. I liked all of the scenes with Mark Duplass and McCarthy, as well - I'm a major fan of Duplass's (loved him in Safety Not Guaranteed, among others) and he and McCarthy had good chemistry together, while at the same time showing a softer side of Tammy, rather than the crude one we mostly see throughout. There's a sort of Way, Way Back reunion happening in the film as well - Nat Faxon and Toni Collette have small roles, and Alison Janney plays Tammy's mom - and that was one of my favorite movies from last year.

Maybe see this film. Like I said, there were some funny moments but I wanted it to be funnier. I've seen McCarthy at her funniest (Bridesmaids, etc.) and Tammy unfortunately does not compare to that hilarity. If you do go, make sure to stay through the credits, as there are a few end scenes that will make you chuckle; however, I'd recommend this for a Redbox rental instead of paying to see it at the theater.

Tammy is in theaters today, July 2nd, and is rated R with a runtime of 96 minutes. 2.5 stars out of 5.

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