Melissa McCarthy is Tammy, a down-on-her-luck lovable loser.
When she loses her job at a burger joint and finds her husband cavorting with the next door neighbour, Tammy moves down the block to her parents’ home. It isn’t long before Tammy’s Grandma Pearl (Susan Sarandon) talks her into doing something fun for once in her life, a road trip to Niagara Falls.
Tammy ends up babysitting her profane, diabetic, drunk grandma, falling in love anew and learning a few valuable life lessons along the way.
We say, “Tammy is the most likeable McCarthy character yet, but she’s not that funny.”
TAYLOR: I harbour a naturally gained distaste for loud and obnoxious people, on which Melissa McCarthy has built her entire career. So I went into the film with some trepidation. I was pleased to find Tammy to be likeable enough, a sad, simple goofball of a woman, not unlike people we’ve all known in life. The film didn’t offend me, nor did it seem particularly silly or unbelievable. I had a pleasant time with Tammy, but I did not laugh, not once.
HOWE: I don’t find McCarthy that funny or entertaining, be it on TV or the big screen. She seems to play the same old character, which is a shame because from the last couple of movies she has made there is some acting ability hiding within her somewhere.
Yet, saying that, Tammy is the best film in which I have seen her, but that may be due to the fact that she is surrounded by some great talent, Sarandon and Kathy Bates just to name a couple. When either one of these actresses are on screen they tend to steal the limelight from her.
I guess the big question is, did it do its job and make me laugh? Well, it did a couple of times, but not due to its star.
BROOKE (guest reviewer and Howe’s teenage daughter): Watching the messy, disastrous life of Tammy made me feel as though mine has some slight organization to it. The story seemed almost predictable at times and yet I was held completely engaged by the sheer randomness of everything. I had quite a few laughs, many due to the alcoholic grandma, Tammy’s social oddities and her awkward situations. I enjoyed rooting for her to pull through and escape the ice cream man.
– Taylor gives Tammy 3 magazines tossed on the floor out of 5.
– Brooke gives it 3 mini powdered donuts out of 5.
– Howe gives it 3 senior’s backseat liaisons out of 5.
The film is currently playing at the Galaxy Cinemas in Vernon.
– Peter Howe and Brian Taylor are film reviewers based in Vernon.
