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Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Dan Aykroyd, Susan Sarandon, Mark Duplass, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh
Director: Ben Falcone
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Running Time: 97 / 101 minutes

Film: 2 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

After “Bridesmaids”, Melissa McCarthy became a star. “Identity Thief” was lacking quite a bit. “Tammy” is even further down the line. When someone plays the same character time after time it gets quite old and that is the case here. Even though, I was not a fan of the film. You gotta give it to them for having a helluva cast besides Melissa McCarthy, the film co-stars Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Toni Collette, Kathy Bates, Sandra Oh, Mark Duplass and Dan Aykroyd. I have to give it to the film since it kept the comedy in around 90 or so minutes, which I enjoy but the film still felt like it dragged for me.

Synopsis: Tammy (McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint, and instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It’s time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she’s broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Sarandon), is her only option—with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with Pearl riding shotgun, it may be just what Tammy needs.

Warner Bros is releasing this film as a combo pack with a Blu-ray + DVD + UltraViolet Digital HD copy. The Blu-ray edition features the film’s theatrical and extended cuts, which runs about 14 minutes longer. The 1080p transfer and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track are good but nothing to brag about, especially since it is a comedy. The special features are weak like the film including “Tammy’s Road Trip Checklist”, which is a travelogue with McCarthy and the director on the making of the film. “Fun Extras” is a collection of three mash-ups including “P@#$-O-Rama”, “Wave-O-Rama” and “Mindless Chat-O-Rama”. The rest is a bunch of gags and deleted scenes.

Own “Tammy” on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD, and Digital HD on November 11^th

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Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon and Mark Duplass
Directed by: Ben Falcone
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hour 37 mins
Warner Brothers

Our score: 3 out of 5 stars

What else can happen to Tammy (McCarthy). Fired from her Mc-job after a deer runs into her car, she returns home early to find her husband having dinner. With the woman next door. Humiliated, she goes to her mother’s house looking for solace. Instead she finds her grandmother (Sarandon, never better) with a purse full of cash and a dream to visit Niagara Falls. What follows is one of the most outrageous road films of all time.

Co-written by star McCarthy with her director (and real life husband) Falcone, “Tammy” is a dramadey that actually works best during its most serious moments. The reason for this is that supplying the laughs seems to have been left up to only McCarthy, whose improvisational skills can only stretch so far. Long stretches of her trying to fill a scene with laughs sometime weigh the tone of the film down. Don’t get me wrong, I think she is a brilliant comedienne and a fine actress, but she could have used a little more help in some of the scenes. Fortunately, for most of the film, she is surrounded by great actresses including Oscar-winner Sarandon, Kathy Bates (herself an Oscar-winner), Sandra Oh, Alison Janey and, on the men’s side, Duplass, Gary Cole and, in a quick appearance, Dan Aykroyd. These co-stars take some of the emotional weight off of McCarthy’s shoulders and it’s in these scenes that “Tammy” (and Tammy herself) comes alive.

Falcone proves himself well behind the camera. He does hit a few stalls in the road but mostly keeps the film moving smoothly. I’d like to see what he could do with a project where he doesn’t just rely on McCarthy’s abilities to be funny in order to fill a scene. As his next scheduled film behind the camera is also co-written by and starring McCarthy. I may need to wait awhile to get my wish.

While not as funny as I thought it could be, “Tammy” is still an entertaining way to help celebrate the 4th of July (see the movie and you’ll know what I mean)!

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