Review of Tammy (2014) by Janoy F — 26 Dec 2014

Melissa McCarthy is probably one of my new favourite people on the TV screens, I love watching her in her show "Mike and Molly" she can really make me laugh but I'm starting to think that it's not because of her or her talents but her writers and her directors' comic timing.

Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Mike and Molly) plays the title character of Tammy, a hopeless dead beat no future careless slob, she loses her job, her marriage and car all in the one day forcing her to pack her things and head off into the big bad world to start over and find herself. What she doesn't count on though that her Grandmother Pearl played by Susan Sarandon (The Banger Sisters, Thelma and Louise) plans on joining her, she needs to escape the home where she lives but feels trapped which is currently with Tammy's mother Deb, played by Allison Janney. (Mom, Hairspray) The pair set off into the world finding trouble, love, crime and eventually themselves.....

Tammy tries real hard to be a road movie that everyone will love with a buddy Thelma and Louise type of theme but fails miserably. The pairing of the two main leads just never gels, Susan Sarandon does her very best to work with what she is given as a co-star but when you're working with ego's as well as bad scripts and even worse direction what can you really do except sit back and ride it out, which I feel she did quite well. I believe the biggest problem was the pairing between the two it just never gets to where it needs to be. If the director chose one of the other films big names to play Pearl like Kathy Bates (Misery, American Horror Story) who actually plays a lesbian friend of Pearls there could have been a very different outcome. Add to this cast Sandra Oh, Dan Ackroyd, Mark Duplass, Ben Falcone (who also directed the film) Gary Cole and Toni Collette (who was so under used in my opinion) and by rights you should have a funny laugh out loud sentimental adventure film instead of the turkey that was delivered. There are some fun moments but not enough to keep you entertained for very long. A few scenes appeared to be very "off the script" but they just go on for far too long and do nothing but bring the film down.

I have since learnt that Melissa McCarthy actually produced and co-wrote the script, perhaps she should just stick to being told what to do and how to act from now on and stop working with her husband Ben Falcone who also directed McCarthy in Bridesmaids, (which I loved but then she wasn't the lead actor in that one) Identity Thief (which I hated) and The Heat (which I'm yet to see and if going off his other two previous films may not ever see) It seems the happy couple working together may not be the best decision in my opinion anyway.

Perhaps I'm not the right audience for Tammy and there are others who seen something very different and in fact loved it, please tell me if so. Tammy is not for the kids, a lot of adult themes and language.

Tammy gets 1 out of 5 BanShee Screams.

Thanks for reading.

X.

#Tammy.