Tammy (Rated C)
Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates
Genre: Comedy
Dwight's rating:

What do you get when you take a scene-stealing actress from the beloved comedy "Bridesmaids", cast her as a lead character who's remarkably similar to the lead character in "Bridesmaids", and then drop that character in a movie that's just like "Bridesmaids" but without the wedding, and with only half (if not just one-third) the laughs? You get the new film, "Tammy".
Melissa McCarthy is that scene-stealing actress from 2011's "Bridesmaids", and actually earned an Academy Award nomination for her uproarious work. And following last year's amusing "Identity Thief" and especially the hilarious "The Heat", McCarthy could rightly lay claim to the title "funniest woman In movies today". Sadly, there are very few signs of that in "Tammy".
In what could be the greatest example of false movie advertising this year, "Tammy" is not the rollicking, slap-stick female "Dumb & Dumber" movie one might have expected. Previews for the film have been dominated by clips of some of the movie's zaniest scenes, but while these may actually be the funniest parts of the movie, they are very few and far between.
McCarthy's character Tammy is down on her luck, lost in life, and not certain of what direction to take. Sound familiar? She's a lot like Kristen Wiig's character in "Bridesmaids", or like most of the characters Ben Stiller plays in his movies. There are also far too many similarities to McCarthy's "Identity Thief" role.
Tammy, the character, is all over the place. At once, she's a dim-witted moron, then she's the most sensitive and rational person around. After losing her job, Tammy hits the road with her profane, hard-drinking grandmother Pearl (Sarandon). At first Pearl seems to be the one filled with the "pearls of wisdom". Then suddenly, Tammy's the level-headed one.
Featuring an all-star cast, including Oscar winners Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates, Emmy winners Allison Janney and Sandra Oh, and Toni Collette and Dan Aykroyd in cameos - "Tammy" feels like a small, independent film that should be playing later in the year and not in the middle of blockbuster season. Unlike most of those type of flicks, however, "Tammy" is confused about what it wants to be. Is it a goofy slapstick? Is it a mother-grandmother-bonding buddy-comedy? Is this a coming of age dramedy?
Truth is, it's all of the above. But it does none well at all. McCarthy is partly to blame for the problems here -- not because of her acting, but because she co-wrote the screenplay (along with her husband Ben Falcone, who also directed and has a cameo). The very uneven storytelling and frequent changes in tone are beyond strange. And more often then not, it feels the movie is supposed to be about Grandma Pearl, as Sarandon's better-defined character frequently threatens to steal the show.
It's not a completely awful experience, just an odd and very disappointing one -- most importantly though, it's simply not funny enough. For a far better reflection of McCarthy's talents, revisit last year's excellent "The Heat", or go back to "Bridesmaids" -- the movie "Tammy" tries so hard ... but ultimately miserably fails to emulate.
o Dwight Strachan is the host/producer of " Morning Blend" on Guardian Radio. He is a television producer and writer, and an avid TV history and film buff. Email dwight@nasguard.com and follow him on twitter @morningblend969.

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