“Tammy” is one movie trying to be two movies at once: two movies which don't mesh together very well, nor are much good on their own. Beginning as a wacky, pratfall-heavy, screwball road trip comedy which isn’t very funny, it veers awkwardly into straight-faced, borderline mumblecore territory somewhere around the third act. If there’s a balance to be found between the two, first-time director Ben Falcone (Air Marshall John!) fails to find it: with clashing tones, it’s a film that’s confused about what exactly it is and what it’s supposed to be doing. Towards the end, one feels like one is watching a completely different movie from before. Wanting to be the big, loud comedy hit of the summer as well as a grounded indie dramedy, the film tries to have its cake and eat it, and ends up choking.
For a Melissa McCarthy vehicle, it at least allows McCarthy to show off both the comedic and dramatic chops she’s displayed in the past -- presumably deliberate on her part, considering she co-wrote the script -- but given her talents you do wish the material did her any kind of justice, even if she did write it herself. She plays Tammy, a fast food worker who as the film opens is having an extraordinarily bad day: while driving to work, she accidentally runs over a deer, which totales her car; when she finally arrives at work, she’s fired for showing up late one too many times; when she gets back home, she discovers her hubby’s getting busy with a neighbour and was planning on leaving her. In dire need of a break, she decides to embark on a spontaneous, unplanned road trip using grandma’s car -- thing is, grandma (Susan Sarandon) insists on joining her. Turns out grandma’s a bit rowdy: that is to say, she’s a foul-mouthed, sex-mad drunk. Cue crazy, cross-country shenanigans involving motel rooms, dive bars, dangerous driving and run-ins with the law -- y’know, the kinda stuff you’ve seen in every other road trip movie ever, only here it's even less inspired.
McCarthy and Sarandon are a fun pairing, and what few laughs the film offers come from their knockabout chemistry. Sarandon’s no stranger to the road trip movie, of course, though her casting here is odd; considering their mere 23-year age gap, you do begin to wonder why she was cast as McCarthy’s grandmother and not simply her mother. They’re joined by a mighty fine supporting cast -- among them Kathy Bates, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, Dan Aykroyd and Allison Janney -- who are sadly wasted in thankless bit-parts. Collette and Oh are especially underused, given almost literally nothing to do but stand around, read a few lines and cash their pay cheque. For a road trip movie, the film has a bizarrely vacant sense of setting, adventure and destination -- as a result, it often feels lost and stranded and like it’s not really going anywhere. There’s an appreciable sincerity to the film’s message about being strong and true to yourself, but considering how unsure the film is of itself, that message is rendered rather ironic.
Rating: 4/10
why'd they even make this movie
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