Tammy (film)
| Tammy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ben Falcone |
| Written by | Ben Falcone Melissa McCarthy |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Russ T. Alsobrook |
| Edited by | Michael L. Sale |
| Music by | Michael Andrews |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 96 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $20 million[2] |
| Box office | $99,425,432[2] |
Tammy is a 2014 American comedy film directed by Ben Falcone and produced, co-written by, and starring Melissa McCarthy. The film also stars Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Toni Collette, Sandra Oh, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, and Falcone himself. The film was released on July 2, 2014.[3]
Plot
In Murphysboro, Illinois, Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) strikes a deer on the way to her job at Topper Jacks (a fictional fast food restaurant), causing significant damage to her vehicle. Once she arrives at Topper Jacks, her supervisor, Keith (Ben Falcone), fires her for repeatedly showing up late for her shift. Upon leaving, Tammy indignantly causes a scene by contaminating or stealing food. After her car dies on the way home on Illinois Route 13, she eventually arrives to find her husband, Greg (Nat Faxon), eating a romantic meal with their neighbor (Toni Collette). Upset, Tammy leaves and walks two doors down to her parents' house.
She tells her mother, Deb (Allison Janney), about her plans to leave and takes her grandmother Pearl's (Susan Sarandon) car. Pearl requests to come along. Tammy initially refuses but ultimately agrees when Pearl proves that she has a large sum of cash. Tammy has beer with Pearl, and the next morning they wake up near a park where Pearl convinces Tammy not to go back home. Pearl wants to go to Niagara Falls with Tammy since she hasn't gone as a child.
Along the way the two stop in a bar in Louisville, Kentucky, Tammy meets Earl (Gary Cole) and his son Bobby (Mark Duplass), and Earl hooks up with Pearl. Tammy and Bobby begin to make a love connection as Pearl and Earl drunkenly make out in the car. Bobby gives Tammy his number to call him so he can pick up Earl.
Back at the hotel, Tammy is forced to sleep outside. The next morning, Bobby picks up Earl and the two leave. Tammy, infuriated with Pearl, leaves Pearl, but returns after feeling guilty. Tammy and Pearl are arrested since Pearl has illegal prescription drugs. Tammy is released, but Pearl stays at the jail.
To bail Pearl out Tammy robs a Topper Jack's, where she converses with employees, Becky (Sarah Baker) and Larry (Rich Williams). Finally having obtained the money, she rushes to the prison to bail her out, but Bobby has already bailed Pearl out.
With the help of Pearl's wealthy lesbian cousin Lenore (Kathy Bates) (who made her fortune off of a small chain of pet supply stores), they destroy the car to hide the evidence from the robbery. The two then stay at the home of Lenore and her wife, Susanne (Sandra Oh). At a 4th of July party thrown at the house, Pearl gets drunk and humiliates Tammy by making rude comments about her weight and appearance in front of all the guests. After Tammy runs off to the dock on the lake by the house, Lenore follows her to both comfort her and offer her some tough love, telling her that she has always been complaining about her life, but has never done anything about it. She tells Tammy that if she wants to make things better for herself she needs to work hard to make it happen.
Later in the morning, Tammy brings coffee to Pearl who is presumably asleep outside. After repeatedly trying to wake her, Pearl does not wake up and Tammy assumes she is dead. She, Lenore, and Susanne grieve Pearl's death, but Pearl suddenly awakens, much to everyone's shock. Pearl was actually unconscious due to the large amounts of alcohol she drank that night. The ambulance arrives and takes Pearl to the hospital. The police arrive as well, and Tammy is arrested.
Tammy is released from prison 38 days later and her dad (Dan Aykroyd) picks her up. He offers to kill Greg for her, though she declines.
Tammy goes home and finds that Greg and his mistress have packed Tammy's belongings. She and Greg agree to an amicable divorce. She walks down the street to her parents' place and finds out that Pearl is now living in Brookview Retirement Home. Tammy goes to Brookview to break her out, but Pearl is actually happy there. She has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at the home and she is dating one of the men there. However, they do still take a trip to Niagara Falls.
At Niagra Falls, Bobby surprises Tammy there and they kiss. Tammy tells him about her choice to move to Louisville to get a fresh start in life and get closer to him.
Cast
- Melissa McCarthy as Tammy, the titular character
- Susan Sarandon as Pearl, Tammy's grandmother. Pearl has diabetes, so Sarandon wore prosthetic cankles to reflect the symptoms.[4]
- Kathy Bates as Lenore, Pearl's cousin
- Allison Janney as Deb, Tammy's mother and Pearl's daughter
- Dan Aykroyd as Don, Tammy's father
- Gary Cole as Earl, Pearl's new love interest
- Sandra Oh as Susanne, Lenore's girlfriend
- Mark Duplass as Bobby, Earl's son
- Toni Collette as Missi, Greg and Tammy's neighbor, and Greg's love interest
- Nat Faxon as Greg, Tammy's husband
- Ben Falcone as Keith, Tammy's boss
- Sarah Baker as Becky, Tammy's friend
- Rich Williams as Larry
- Rob Springer as Gene the cook
Production
Filming
Filming began May 3, 2013 in Wilmington, North Carolina. Other filming locations include the surrounding areas of Shallotte, North Carolina and Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina. Also brief footage was filmed in Louisville, Kentucky[5] and Niagara Falls, New York.[6][7]
Marketing
The first official full length trailer of the film was released on May 6, 2014.[8] On June 3, three posters for the film were released.[9] On June 16, the UK trailer for the film was revealed.[10]
Reception
Tammy received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film currently has a 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 162 reviews, with the site's consensus reading: "Melissa McCarthy remains an engaging screen presence, but her efforts aren't enough to keep the jumbled Tammy on track."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[12]
Ian Buckwalter of NPR gave the film a mixed review saying "Tammy never quite manages to find that balance between the sweet and the smartass the way Bridesmaids did, nor does the mismatched buddy dynamic between McCarthy and Sarandon ever approach the success of The Heat. But eventually the film does manage to find its own awkward way, with enough effective and less desperate jokes to smooth things over after the rocky start. It's a shakier debut of McCarthy and Falcone's efforts behind the camera than one might have hoped for, but if Tammy can turn things around, surely they can too."[13]
Accolades
| Year | Award | Category | Recipient(s) and Nominee(s) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Palm Springs International Film Festival | Directors to Watch | Ben Falcone | Won |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Movie Star | Melissa McCarthy | Nominated |
Box office
The film grossed $6.2 million on its opening day, and $21.6 million in its opening weekend, finishing second place at the box office. As of October 26, 2014, Tammy has grossed $99.4 million worldwide.[2]
See also
References
- ^ "TAMMY (15)". Warner Bros. British Board of Film Classification. April 25, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Tammy (2014)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 17, 2014.
- ^ "Melissa McCarthy 'fires an extra' from the set of Tammy after seeing young mother manhandle child". dailymail.co.uk. London. May 21, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Stevenson, Jane (July 2, 2014). "Vanity not an option for Susan Sarandon in 'Tammy'". Toronto Sun. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
- ^ Michael McKay (July 1, 2014). "McCarthy's Tammy set in Louisville, filmed elsewhere". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
- ^ "'Tammy' filming locations in Wilmington, NC this week". onlocationvacations.com. May 6, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ Staff Report (June 26, 2013). "Stars to shine in the Falls". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
- ^ "Hot Trailer: Melissa McCarthy In 'Tammy'". deadline.com. May 6, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
- ^ Anderton, Ethan (June 3, 2014). "Melissa McCarthy Drives, Jetskis & Robs on Three 'Tammy' Posters". firstshowing.net. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ Anderton, Ethan (June 16, 2014). "Melissa McCarthy is a Sloppy Mess in UK Trailer for 'Tammy' Comedy". firstshowing.net. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
- ^ "Tammy (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/movie/tammy
- ^ Buckwalter, Ian (July 3, 2014). "Melissa McCarthy, An Unstoppable Force Imperfectly Deployed In 'Tammy'". NPR. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
External links
- Official website
- Tammy at IMDb
- Tammy at Box Office Mojo
- Tammy at Rotten Tomatoes
- Tammy at Metacritic