Movies: Tammy

Score:  ***1/2 out of ***** (B)

Long Story Short:  Perhaps the most popular female comedian today, Melissa McCarthy launches her newest film, Tammy, on the iconic July 4th release date.  Formula genre blockbusters abound at this time, but Tammy steers away from its star's bread and butter.  The result may register significantly lower on the humor scale, but it packs a punch with characterization thanks to great dialogue and the two leading ladies.  Go see it to encourage more of this creative filmmaking.


I took a little break from movies - partly on purpose, partly not.  Even for me, seeing six films in theaters in six weeks was quite a streak, so I wanted to take a little "break" to be fresh for the next summer offerings.  Well, it turned out June was a bummer for new releases, anyway.  I may end up seeing 22 Jump Street at some point (and Netflix the new Transformers - hey, I'm not forking over any more money to that franchise, but sometimes I just need a fix of plentiful explosions).  So I'm back with a new movie this week, followed by tennis next week.  I really enjoy Melissa McCarthy, so this film was a pretty straightforward choice, despite a worrying score on Rotten Tomatoes.  Tammy was directed by Ben Falcone (McCarthy's husband) and stars McCarthy and Susan Sarandon.

(Note: I always check Wikipedia to read a plot summary to make sure I'm not forgetting anything.  Usually the summaries are quite good and detailed but the one for Tammy is pretty shitty.)

Tammy is a good-natured but down on her luck young woman, who starts the movie by limping to work in her beat up old car and ends up discovering that she's been fired from her fast food job.  Upon returning home, the bad news continues as she finds her husband engaged in an affair with a neighbor.  Tammy goes straight to her mother's house (two doors down the street), where her unsympathetic grandmother Pearl (Sarandon) also lives.  It turns out both women feel a need to get away, and so Tammy and Pearl simply hit the road.

As the two women stumble along in various adventures, they rediscover a freedom that had been missing from their lives - but also must confront the problems that got them to their pre-road trip lives in the first place.

Tammy has a good cast, especially the two leads.  McCarthy takes a break from her usual foul-mouthed smart ass character in this one, exchanging it for a sincere and friendly, yet also bitter woman with self-esteem issues.  It's quite a change, combined with the fact that she is the true lead here and in a different type of film than usual.  The characterization is a little inconsistent as the movie develops, but McCarthy injects it with her impressive charisma and so she's never boring.  Sarandon is the co-pilot, and often just as good as McCarthy.  One of the best things she does is to not act over exuberantly as many "independent spirit" grandmother roles often resort to.  Instead, she delivers scalding lines calmly but with the effect of a cattle prod.  A perfect compliment to the often mopy Tammy.  There are a few other roles, none of which are nearly as big - among the noteworthy are Kathy Bates as Pearl's wealthy, lesbian cousin (hits a sweet spot of both humor and lesson-learning for Tammy), Mark Duplass as Tammy's love interest (great, finely-tuned performance), and Dan Aykroyd as Tammy's father (tiny role, but possibly the funniest in the film).

Warning:  do not go into this film thinking it will be in the style of The Heat (I did).  Tammy is a unique creation all its own, combining elements from other genres (including road movie and romantic comedy) - which ends up being both its best strength and greatest weakness.  We'll start with the positive:  unshackled (mostly) of genre convention and sporting two great leads, Tammy has some fascinating things to say and show about its characters that few other films do.  While the plot is a bit meandering, the dialogue is very strong and delves deeply into Tammy and Pearls' lives, as well as their relationship.  Now for the negative:  Tammy isn't as funny as a McCarthy film should be.  Two main reasons: the script forces McCarthy's usual humor into the first part of the film (but it doesn't fit here), and can't consistently figure out a style of humor that does work.  It does certainly have its moments (Aykroyd, fast food robbery, etc.), but it's hit or miss with a few embarrassing whiffs.

***

Critics have been quite unfavorable to Tammy (just 27% on Rotten Tomatoes), but I think that's unfair.  This film is a branching out effort from McCarthy - yes, there are some stumbles and it's not as finely-tuned as standouts like The Heat - and I think that many are holding that against Tammy.  Do I wish that this film had been funnier?  Sure, but I'm just as happy if not happier that McCarthy decided to go in a different direction.  Will Ferrell, as much as he's my favorite comedian, perhaps should have done the same.  He had real gems like Stranger Than Fiction that were outside his comfort zone, but he kept (keeps?) going back to the same well, with diminishing returns (Anchorman 2 being a perfect example).  McCarthy tries out not just a whole new kind of character (at least, new to me), but she also incorporates creative new storytelling and characterization (the dynamics of her relationship with Duplass are particularly well done).  I applaud McCarthy for her creative choices and hope she sets an example for the industry.  In order for that to happen, this movie needs to be a success - so go out and see it!