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Tammy is a study of expectations. The previews were less than appetizing, showing off how funny it is that a stupid person has a hard time robbing a fast food restaurant. However, this movie is written by its star and her husband, showing deep care for the characters they want desperately to bring to life. In the end Tammy is a frustrating tug of war between a solid R Rated comedy and unfunny condescending mess. You can bet if it was a tug of war, Melissa McCarthy would throw herself into the water for the laugh.
Tammy (McCarthy) is not having the best of days. In one spell, she loses her job at Topper Jack’s (a burger place), wrecks her car, and finds out her husband (Nat Faxon) is sleeping with her neighbor (Toni Collette). With no money and no other options, she elects to team with her grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) to go to Niagara Falls and get out of her small town. Their road trip leads to unexpected places with crazy people, including a father/son love interest (Gary Cole and Mark Duplass) and Pearl’s lesbian friends Lenore (Kathy Bates) and Susanne (Sandra Oh).
You can tell a woman had a say in the writing of this movie. If this were any other type of romantic comedy, a man would come in and save Tammy and Pearl with a marriage/kiss and live happily ever after. Tammy argues that Tammy/Pearl have clean themselves up before they can even start thinking about dating. The female relationships here are very snipey, but also ring of honesty and sincerity as one woman tries to relate to another. As the movie goes along, it diverges more and more from your initial expectations after Tammy’s first 20 minutes, to the success of the story. Even though Tammy is a hot mess, she controls her own mess, and can choose herself what to do, a refreshingly progressive take on the female road trip comedy.
Melissa McCarthy can carry a scene in many ways. Tammy dries McCarthy’s well of talent until there is nothing left to tap. We see it all, both good and bad. Requisitely, McCarthy falls a lot and generates laughs at the expense of her weight. These jokes are mostly used for low brow humor and cease to exist by the third act. McCarthy is at her best when backed into a corner by a logical person and she illogically argues her way out of the situation. Tammy uses this situation a lot pitting McCarthy against many characters, letting the star drive the scenes effortlessly. Smartly, McCarthy knows how to put little pieces of drama/pathos into the story to add stakes to the plot, and the story adds a new wrinkle to the grandmother/granddaughter relationship during each part of the trip. Tammy digs itself too deep with its cliché ridden beginning and especially end, but the meaty middle is fun entertainment showing us all Melissa McCarthy has to offer.
McCarthy also brought some friends over to get a chuckle from the audience. Susan Sarandon has a blast here, getting to play Pearl as a drunk carpe diem woman who has solid chemistry with McCarthy. She’s vulgar and plays drunk well, plus finds nuance in what could have easily been a one note character. Kathy Bates fills the maternal void missing in the picture well, and even gets some fun bits with fireworks and Viking funerals. Mark Duplass is cute and very sweet but kinda boring as Tammy’s love interest. Of the rest of the cast, Dan Aykroyd, Gary Cole, Ben Falcone, and Sarah Baker get the biggest laughs in minor roles.
Tammy, the character and the movie, wear their hearts of their sleeve. This marriage driven passion project takes full advantage of Melissa McCarthy and Susan Sarandon. McCarthy and Sarandon should team up for a Thelma and Louise’s sequel, since they nailed their banter so effortlessly.