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Tammy
| Released |
4 July 2014 |
| Director |
Ben Falcone |
Starring
|
Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Mark Duplass, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, Sandra Oh, Toni Collette, Nat Faxon |
| Writer(s) |
Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone |
Producer(s)
|
Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Melissa McCarthy |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
96 minutes |
| Genre |
Comedy |
| Rating |
15A |
|
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Always the bridesmaid.
Tammy (Mellissa McCarthy) is a mess. An unkempt, loudmouth who totals her car, gets fired from her job and discovers her husband is having an affair all on the same day. In retaliation against her misfortunes, she takes to the road with her alcoholic grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) to blow her retirement money and generally cause havoc from State to State. Tammy the movie is also a mess; a confused little film that doesn’t really know what it wants to be and ends up being very little of anything.
Ben Falcone (the comedy performer who you probably remember as the Air Marshall in Bridesmaids) directs the script he co-wrote with partner McCarthy. This is his first time behind the camera and it’s not difficult to tell; he may have comic timing as an actor but he has yet to master it from the other side of the camera. The film drags along, with sequences frequently stretched out beyond breaking point. Having said that, I fear the project was doomed right from the script stage. Firstly, it is completely without any decent jokes. Anyone who watches modern American comedies may not find this particularly unusual but Tammy doesn’t seem to be even trying. I suspect Falcone had loftier ambitions, the stellar cast (including, somewhat inexplicably, indie darling Duplass as a simpering love interest) and constant references to Pearl’s alcoholism would suggest a comedy that veers toward black. McCarthy however, is not cut out for anything darker than beige and hams it up relentlessly while the rest of the cast plays it relatively straight.
The overall effect is jarring and not all that fun to watch, particularly given the fact that Tammy herself is a charmless oaf. While we’re at it, giving Susan Sarandon a grey perm and comfy leisure-wear will never make her a convincing little old lady. Together, they make for an awkward duo with Sarandon trying a little too hard and McCarthy sinking into a comedic rut. I don’t doubt that sooner or later McCarthy will find a role to match her scene-stealing turn in Bridesmaids but Tammy is definitely not it.
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Linda O’Brien |
