Tammy (2014)
Certified: 15
Duration: 96 minutes
Directed by: Ben Falcone
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Gary Cole, Sandra Oh, Mark Duplass, Toni Collette, Nat Faxon, Ben Falcone, Sarah Baker
KRS Releasing Ltd

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) has had a crummy day, or rather a crummy life. She used to work in a dead-end job in a fast-food chain from which she has just got fired for arriving to work late too many times.

She arrives home and finds her husband Greg (Nat Faxon) having a romantic dinner with her neighbour Missi (Toni Collette). She has also hit a deer with her car. She feels like leaving the town but her mother Deb (Alison Janney) does not let her use her car.

So what does she do? She hits the road with her grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) who is an alcoholic loaded with cash and has a Cadillac. The two are soon in loads of trouble including: the holding up of a restaurant, the misuse of a jet-ski, getting arrested and the picking of Earl and Bobby (Gary Cole and Mark Duplass), a father and son. They are not always in agreement and on the Fourth of July they end up at a party at Pearl’s cousin, Lenore (Kathy Bates) and her girlfriend Susanne (Sandra Oh). Life for Tammy definitely needs to change.

Tammy is firmly embedded in the road movie genre. It will surely appeal to McCarthy’s fans as this comedy drama has been designed to place her in the spotlight. Not only did she co-write the screenplay but Ben Falcone, her husband, also made his directorial debut and co-wrote the screenplay. He also has a role as her boss at the burger franchise, which is hilarious.

McCarthy dominates the screen, whether it is in her over-the-top behaviour or in her downtrodden naïve mode; in fact, at times, it’s unclear whether one should laugh or feel sorry for her. Sarandon is seemingly happy to tag along, knowing whose picture this is.

As an aside, while seeing McCarthy on the road with Sarandon is an appealing proposition, I would have guessed that Sarandon would get the mother role and not her grandmother.

After all, McCarthy is 43 years old and Susan Sarandon is 67 years old, while Janney, who plays the mother of McCarthy’s character, is only 54 years old!

The film shows how versatile McCarthy is as an actress, not just a comedy figure. She should do more of the same and take centre stage.

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