“I love and respect Melissa McCarthy so much. She is just so full of life and confidence, and she’s funny beyond all reason. The thing is, when it comes to her films, I have the same problem with her that I used to have with Will Ferrell. Like Ferrell back in the day, I love seeing her pop up in bit roles. No matter how small the part, she’ll make the film memorable, saving it at least for those few moments. But also like Ferrell back in the day, I don’t so much like her leading roles. I don’t know if the schtick gets old or bad scripts or what. It’s not that she isn’t capable of carrying a leading role, I just don’t like those roles. I did really like The Heat, and I think that worked because it was a bit more subdued. By which I mean she wasn’t completely over the top. Ferrell eventually started being more reliable, so I have hope McCarthy will follow.
Tammy was a bit hard to love. She was just so unlikeable and awkward at first. Eventually, once she stopped being so overtly strange and you could see her humanity come thru, you did feel for her and cheer for her. I think there was also some age weirdness I couldn’t get past. On paper, the idea of Susan Sarandon being mother to Allison Janney being mother to Melissa McCarthy sounds awesome. When you see them standing next to each other, it’s hard to buy. Particularly Janney mothering McCarthy. They should have been sisters with Sarandon as mom. I just had an incredibly hard time getting past that. By the time we did reach the more emotional moments where the relationship evolved, my brain had been so confused I had a hard time getting into it.
However, I would love to see those three women team up again. Janney is a favorite and I’m always in favor of more of her. But the real fun this time was seeing Sarandon let loose. I’ve always known her as a serious and respected actress. You know she took this role just to have fun, which is exactly what she did. We also had Mark Duplass, who I was happy to see. He brought the same genuine sweetness I loved in Safety Not Guaranteed, and he plays really well off McCarthy.
The whole film was a little rough and awkward. Melissa isn’t quite the superstar comedienne I’d like her to be, but she’s on her way.
Tammy – \m/ \m/ \n