Not sure if I am the only one but I’ve gotten tired of
Melissa McCarthy’s shtick already.
Though having toiled in film and on television for over the better part
of a decade, it seems as though the actress just arrived on the scene with her
star-making turn in 2011’s Bridesmaids. Since then, she has a hit TV show and four movies under her belt and in
following the maxim “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” she’s yet to vary the
sort of role she plays.
As the lead and co-writer of her latest feature Tammy, McCarthy makes sure she stays in her comfort zone as a foul-mouthed, obnoxious,
rude, ignorant, childish, delusional, abrasive and irresponsible woman who just
can’t seem get her life together. If
this sounds familiar than you’ve seen, among others, Identity Thief and The
Heat and if there’s anything innovative about this film it’s that it’s a road
movie. Having lost her car, husband and
job all in one day, the title character decides to do what she always does when
the chips are stacked against her – she runs away. However, she’s forced to
take her alcoholic grandmother Pearl (Susan Sarandon) with her, as she has a
nest egg and car at her disposal.
What ensues is a meandering journey towards a predictable
end that allows McCarthy to ham it up as Tammy manages to get into one ridiculous
predicament after another. She leaves
her job by defiling food in front of customers; she awkwardly tries to pick up
a man and goes down in flames; she robs a fast food joint but is more concerned
about scoring hot pies than big money.
These moments and many more are rendered by McCarthy with what’s become
her trademark routine – initially aggressive, then childish and finally apologetic,
all of it rendered in broad strokes with the actress opening her eyes wide,
executing a pratfall and sheepishly pandering for our sympathy.
If there’s a silver lining here it’s Sarandon, a consummate
pro who’s able to create a sympathetic character despite being handed a rather
thinly written part. Having spent over
four decades in front of a camera, delivering honest moments on screen is
second nature to the veteran actress and that holds her in good stead here as
she’s able to imbue Pearl with a sense of familiarity that will ring true with
the audience. Here’s a woman who’s made
many mistakes in her life, continues to make them, is a slave to her addiction
and yet we don’t hate her or excuse her for her actions. Sarandon is able to
bring a sense of reality to the film that’s sorely lacking and the fact that
she’s acting instead of performing like her co-star makes for an interesting
contrast between subtlety and grandstanding.
Really, in the end that winds up being the
biggest problem with the film. Every
character in it is more interesting than Tammy.
The supporting cast includes Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd,
Mark Duplass, Toni Collette and Gary Cole and each of them outshines
McCarthy. The reason for this is that
these veteran performers aren’t pandering for our attention, they’re simply
doing their jobs, bringing their characters to life as best they can instead of
begging for our approval, something that the title character and the woman
playing her have in common.
This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 2, 2014.
