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Tammy (2014), R, ★1/2

Melissa McCarthy trying to take a ride on Susan Sarandon's car.
I have been pleasantly surprised by Melissa McCarthy's abilities based on her talent in movies, TV shows, comedy skits and even TV interviews. There's natural humor underneath her jokes that goes over-the-top and we basically laugh with her, and not at her. It seems like she has done this ever since pre-school and about almost every movie, there is at least 2 laughs coming from what she said and/or what she done. It takes professionalism and comfortability to perform at her level, and not many people are right now. Unfortunately, this movie does not perform at her level.

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having an awful day from her being fired at work to her car dying to her husband, Greg (Nate Faxon) eating a romantic dinner with their neighbor (Toni Collette). Disappointed and heartbroken, Tammy grudgingly walks two doors down to her parents' house and tells her mom, Deb (Allison Janney) that she is going out of town and wants to take her grandmother's, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), car. Pearl insists on going and she and Tammy do not always get along. Pearl recommends Tammy to drink to ease her stress, but she cannot because she is driving.

The next day, they both wake up near a park and Pearl says to Tammy that she always wanted to go to Niagara Falls. However, Tammy randomly goes on a jet ski and totals it and reimburses it for damages. They both head to Louisville and meet Earl (Gary Cole) and his son, Bobby (Mark Duplass). Bobby and Tammy awkwardly have a conversation while Earl and Pearl (wow, it rhymes) have sex. However, things turn out for the worst as Tammy and Pearl encounter each other's weaknesses that hinders their memorable trip as they have to help each other with their problems as they are both to celebrate the 4th of July.

Mark Duplass and Melissa McCarthy outside the hotel room.
To start off, this movie is not as bad as Identity Thief, but I am not sure what this is about or what kind of audience this is made for. Either, McCarthy fans will like it or be really disappointed with the outcome. I am in the latter category because I feel like the filmmakers and the writers try so hard that the movie places the jokes in arbitrary scenes that it did not sell, execute or make sense. Granted, a few scenes or lines are funny but it hardly makes up for the untidy script that both McCarthy and her husband and director, Ben Falcone, delivered. He also cameos in it and has written the script along with his wife.

Melissa McCarthy is still funny and gives a fine performance, but not a memorable one. Her performance is definitely not in the league of her performances in Bridesmaids and The Heat. Her character did not seem to get me interested in her as to what she is doing and why is she going through tough times. It's great to see Susan Sarandon again, but seriously, I did not buy her as the grandmother. She looks too pretty to become an 80-year-old grandmother. Maybe, they were trying to make an homage to another fantastic road movie, Thelma and Louise. Allison Janney is very good and I thought she gave the best performance in the movie. The chemistry between Duplass, who is all right, and McCarthy did not work because this is the wrong movie to insert in because in Hollywoodland, you need to have a man and a woman to fall in love with each other. It's a freakin' cliche. Dan Akyroyd also appears as McCarthy's father in the film.

This is a huge misfire for McCarthy's career. I think next time she has to star in a "dramedy", because I want to see if she can pull off emotional chops with comic jokes. What I'm trying to say I want to see a real, natural character in a comedy-drama like John Candy in the wonderful road film and one of my all-time favorite films, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, another road film with Candy and Steve Martin. The story feels jumbled, some serious medical material comes out of nowhere, some jokes were not executed properly, and the outcome is a little too predictable and too late to earn my forgiveness. It was a little funny and even though Falcone and McCarthy are blissfully talented, I think they needed to really organize the script. It felt like I was watching the first cut of the film. I'm afraid this movie will be forgotten in a month.

*1/2

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