I like Melissa McCarthy (who doesn't?) even though she's being typecast as the same aloof, don't-give-a-fuck, brash character since Bridesmaids propelled her into the limelight. Before Bridesmaids, I knew McCarthy from Gilmore Girls and only from Gilmore Girls. She played the character of Sookie. A sweet, aloof, clumsy but good-intentioned friend of our female heroine Lorelai Gilmore. Let's just say her character was the complete opposite of Megan in Bridesmaids.
But I digress.
As advertised, Tammy kind of seemed to be the same old thing that McCarthy's been trapped in. However, the writing seemed funnier and knowing that she and her husband wrote it together was huge selling point for me. I giggled at the trailer the first couple times it came on tv and so I figured I'd give it a shot.
I went to a 10pm showing on a Wednesday night in the East Village. To call the theatre empty would be an understatement. When I arrived at ten to ten, there was one guy in the theatre with me. So with my "fuck that's too big" popcorn and my "holy shit I'm gonna have to pee in like ten minutes" soda, I sat happily by myself in the very last row of the theatre.
Slowly, others came in, but there were no more than maybe ten people in the theatre in the end.
After nine hours of previews, the movie began.
It begins with McCarthy's character Tammy singing along to The Outfield's "Your Love" and accidentally hitting a deer in the process, which eventually leads to her being late for work and subsequently getting fired.
You think with this it sets the tone for the film of broad humor and pure silliness. And in a way, it did. But in another way, this film was something else completely.
The entire time I watched Tammy I was wondering if I was enjoying it or not. Mostly because, I think, it was advertised incorrectly. Personally, that's a huge pet peeve for me. AND LET ME TELL YOU WHY.
I like to know what kind of movie I'm going to see. I don't care if I don't know what it's about or any of the people in it, but I'd like to know what tone is about to be set for the next two hours of my life. You know why? Because if you're going to see Stepmom with your dad on Christmas Day because it was advertised as a sweet family comedy and you need something to take your mind off the fact that your dad's mom just died of cancer three days earlier, you're going to be in for a rude fucking awakening.
So, you see, proper advertising can really ruin a fucking Christmas.
And yes, that's a thing that really happened to me.
But more to the matter at hand, I was expecting a really off-the-wall, broad, goofy comedy. And in a lot of ways Tammy was just that. However, it also contained numerous feels.
In some ways, the structure of the plot was similar to Bridesmaids. Tammy basically hits rock bottom and has to find her way out of it. She gets stuck with her spunky, often drunk grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) and has to deal with her as well. Sometimes in funny ways, sometimes in tragic ways. There is a scene where Sarandon's character spits just pure vitriol at Tammy in a drunken stupor and it is probably one of the more heartbreaking scenes I've ever seen in a comedy.
And no American comedy blueprint would be complete without a love interest. Tammy and Pearl meet two men in a bar. A man named Earl (Gary Cole) and his son Bobby (Mark Duplass). Tammy makes a very forward pass at Bobby to a seemingly unsuccessful end. However, Pearl and Earl hit it off nicely.. in the biblical sense. Earl and Bobby come in and out of Tammy's life and as Tammy's perception of the world changes, she begins to reject Bobby, which I find very interesting. It's nice to see that actually. Even though you're waiting for them to PLEASE get together, it's nice to see a film break the norm of the woman vying for the affection of the man. Kudos on that.
In addition to being very funny (as always), McCarthy brought a beautiful element to this romp; raw emotion. Her acting was superb. She broke my heart at least three times. The character of Tammy is surprisingly relatable and so, so honest and McCarthy did a hell of a job bringing that to life on the screen.
All in all, though it was advertised wrong, I'd give the film an eight out of ten whatevers. It was a really cute movie and though there were a few times it lagged a little, I would probably see it again.
And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to not bother to proof this and go do something else.
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