Movie Review- Tammy
Jul. 30th, 2014 06:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Melissa McCarthy is one of those celebrities of the moment who risks overexposure. It's fine. She's very funny, but that's how Hollywood works.
She made a big splash in Bridesmaids and got a good welcome with the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, which is cut from a similar template to Roseanne- blue collar types struggling to make it but they love each other.
In season 4, that show made a 'jump the shark' move (for whatever inexplicable reason) and made Molly an aspiring author. Many of the episodes featured McCarthy pal-ling around with a drunk author played by Susan Sarandon.
Sarandon's a great actress, and I am not sure which came first, but someone must have thought about doing a whole film about it. Though, the film version of Mccarthy is not a straight character, but a loud, overexaggerated Will Ferrell (I never made that connection before, but he did co-produce this) type of absurd character.
In this case, Identity Theft made a lot of money, so why not a road trip with McCarthy and a drunken, insane grandma played by Sarandon.
McCarthy was hilarious in The Heat with Sandra Bullock as the straight woman. Tammy is generally fun and often funny, but pretty forgettable. It is McCarthy in a role too similar to what she has done before.
There are heartwarming moments of introspection (that feel genuine, not like "Hollywood" moments) which will redeem this for some. Also, the cast of surrounding characters is very strong- Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Gary Cole, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Dan Ackroyd).
All that said, it is a disappointment. The "straight" and "funny" roles flip back and forth between McCarthy and Sarandon, which might be part of the problem; or maybe it's because we feel like we have seen it before.
Of note to Southern Illinois peeps, the awful loser town she is from is Murphysboro, Illinois. Route 13 gets referenced as does the very tasty 17th Street Barbeque, from which McCarthy wears a t-shirt.
Apologies to M'boro, who you wouldn't even notice, if you hadn't been looking, and any inference I am making, but that is how it is portrayed. I am sure it is done with love, though as the director (McCarthy's husband Ben Falcone is from Carbondale, and Melissa, I am told spent a semester at SIU).
She made a big splash in Bridesmaids and got a good welcome with the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, which is cut from a similar template to Roseanne- blue collar types struggling to make it but they love each other.
In season 4, that show made a 'jump the shark' move (for whatever inexplicable reason) and made Molly an aspiring author. Many of the episodes featured McCarthy pal-ling around with a drunk author played by Susan Sarandon.
Sarandon's a great actress, and I am not sure which came first, but someone must have thought about doing a whole film about it. Though, the film version of Mccarthy is not a straight character, but a loud, overexaggerated Will Ferrell (I never made that connection before, but he did co-produce this) type of absurd character.
In this case, Identity Theft made a lot of money, so why not a road trip with McCarthy and a drunken, insane grandma played by Sarandon.
McCarthy was hilarious in The Heat with Sandra Bullock as the straight woman. Tammy is generally fun and often funny, but pretty forgettable. It is McCarthy in a role too similar to what she has done before.
There are heartwarming moments of introspection (that feel genuine, not like "Hollywood" moments) which will redeem this for some. Also, the cast of surrounding characters is very strong- Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Gary Cole, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Dan Ackroyd).
All that said, it is a disappointment. The "straight" and "funny" roles flip back and forth between McCarthy and Sarandon, which might be part of the problem; or maybe it's because we feel like we have seen it before.
Of note to Southern Illinois peeps, the awful loser town she is from is Murphysboro, Illinois. Route 13 gets referenced as does the very tasty 17th Street Barbeque, from which McCarthy wears a t-shirt.
Apologies to M'boro, who you wouldn't even notice, if you hadn't been looking, and any inference I am making, but that is how it is portrayed. I am sure it is done with love, though as the director (McCarthy's husband Ben Falcone is from Carbondale, and Melissa, I am told spent a semester at SIU).
