That rumbling you’re feeling? That’s the sound of a new Melissa McCarthy comedy bulldozing toward the box office.
McCarthy’s new movie, “Tammy,” co-written and directed by her husband Ben Falcone, opens in theaters this weekend. Critics are divided about the “Bridesmaids” and “The Heat” comedian’s latest; while some are enchanted by McCarthy’s usual unusual antics, others are over it, finding that the smaller-scale comedy veers too far off course.
Read on to see what the reviews have to say about “Tammy”:
The Story
“After wrecking her grisly Toyota Corolla, Tammy loses her job in a fast-food joint due to a lateness incident that forms the crowning event in an escalating display of bad attitude. Her pompous boss demands she hand in her badge, like a disgraced cop, although Tammy points out that it is just a name tag which she David-Brent-ishly had to pay for in the first place.
“On arriving back home, unwontedly early, she discovers her husband Greg (Nat Faxon) not in flagrante exactly, but having an infuriatingly monogamous meal with their neighbour Missi, played by Toni Collette. With nothing left to lose, Tammy hits the road with her cantankerous alcoholic grandma Pearl (Susan Sarandon) who offers to put up cash and her car for this defiant road trip, being herself enraged at her daughter — that is Tammy’s mom Deb (Allison Janney) — and her plans to put her in a home. And along the way, Tammy and Deb naturally have romantic adventures with men and learn some lessons.” — Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
McCarthy’s Character
“Like other characters McCarthy has played, Tammy is aggressive, profane, and seems to have an incredible amount of unearned confidence, but it’s a bubble that’s easily burst. In the early scene in which Tammy comes home to find Greg and Missi having dinner, she bleats, ‘You never made me dinner, not even once,’ and suddenly, an amusing row of tantrum becomes genuinely sad.” — Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed
McCarthy’s Performance
“McCarthy is such a force of nature — she barrels onscreen in a human hurricane of dimples and Crocs and pure, unchecked id — that she feels more genuine than almost any other woman who’s been allowed (oh, show business) to carry her own major Hollywood film, besides possibly her Bridesmaids costar Kristen Wiig. Even when the material falls short, she’s never not worth watching.” — Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
McCarthy’s Big Bomb
“‘Tammy,’ the new movie starring, produced and cowritten by Melissa McCarthy, could be an artifact from some alternate universe: the creatures there resemble Earthlings but have an entirely different and debased idea of what’s funny. Arriving in time for the July 4th weekend, Tammyhas the effect of a shoddily manufactured firecracker that weakly goes off in your hands — leaving no permanent damage, just a bitter memory. That is to say, this one is bad — a little comedy that flops in big ways.” — Richard Corliss, Time
The Final Word
“The latest star vehicle for the the sharp-tongued Melissa McCarthy is a rambling road picture disguised as the flatulent ‘Identity Thief.’ It’s a drama with prat falls, a comedy with melancholic departures, an erratic jumble of tones and ideas that run in circles, Dodo-style. The schizophrenia falls on director Ben Falcone, McCarthy’s real life husband and co-writer on the film, whose lethargic camerawork can’t keep it bouncing along. And yet it’s not without merit.Tammy is an ambitious pet project that strives for, and occasionally hits, a richer dramatic experience. Somewhere between Alexander Payne and ‘House of Payne’ sits Tammy, the weirdest, most unexpected movie of the summer season.” — Matt Patches, IGN Movies
“Tammy” is in theaters now.
Josh Wigler
Likes pizza, punch and pie. Dislikes the Chitauri. Find him on Twitter @roundhoward; like Ron Howard, but rounder.
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