TAMMY (F)

Bottom Line: You know you’re in trouble when Melissa McCarthy is the least interesting thing in a Melissa McCarthy movie.  Now that’s not to say there’s anything really interesting here - because there’s isn't...  This disjointed and directionless road trip flick is a meandering, muddled mess of recycled-from-better-movies jokes and clichéd Middle America jabs.  It’s a forced and commitment free ‘comedy’ fueled on Cheeto dust and room temperature beer.  McCarthy has proven her worth with the ability to shine (BRIDEMAIDS, THE HEAT) - here, however, she has the miraculous gift of retroactively making the awful IDENTITY THIEF seem marginally better…  Marginally.  This is a flat, boring, sluggishly dull and virtually humorless affair.  It’s the exact opposite of what the commercials and trailers have been selling audiences for the past few months.  Riddled with mindless story structure, ridiculous scenarios, negative character depth, chemistry-free romance, lazy direction, second rate screenwriting, painfully obvious fat jokes, a slew of lets-make-this-thing-seem-fresh missed opportunities and a weakheaded poignancy that's as gentle as a box of sharp sticks.  This flailing mood swing of a movie is an obnoxiously uneven bore from top to bottom.  The only true success TAMMY achieves is in becoming a great venue to play the ‘What else could I have done with the past 96 minutes’ game.  In all fairness – I must admit – the audience I saw it with did applaud at the end…  At this point, however, I’m willing to bet it’s because the screening was free and the longest hour and half of their life was finally over.

 

Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Mark Duplass, Gary Cole, Allison Janney and Dan Aykroyd

Directed by: Ben Falcone

Running time: 96 minutes

Studio description: Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She's totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint and, instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It's time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she's broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only option-with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs. (c) Warner Bros.

 

Official site: www.tammymovie.com