Tammy

Written by Ben Falcone and Melissa McCarthy, Tammy follows McCarthy’s boisterous title character as she loses her job and embarks on a freewheeling road trip with her feisty grandmother (Susan Sarandon’s Pearl). It’s ultimately clear that Tammy improves a great deal as it progresses, as the movie, in its initial stages, seems to be offering just another variation on McCarthy’s well-worn (and increasingly tedious) schtick – with Falcone and McCarthy’s screenplay placing the central character in a handful of egregiously broad situations (eg Tammy’s encounter with a dying deer). There’s little doubt, however, that director Falcone does a nice job of slowly drawing the viewer into the proceedings, as the first-time filmmaker employs a refreshingly low-key sensibility that paves the way for an episodic, almost character-study-like midsection – with the effectiveness of this stretch heightened by McCarthy’s surprisingly textured work as the increasingly sympathetic protagonist. (It doesn’t hurt, either, that Falcone has peppered the supporting cast with a number of rock-solid performers, including Mark Duplass, Allison Janney, and Kathy Bates.) And although Falcone and McCarthy can’t resist the temptation to throw the protagonist in a few unreasonably silly situations, Tammy builds to a final half hour that’s much more involving and heartfelt than one might’ve anticipated – with the highlight undoubtedly a touching sequence between McCarthy and Bates’ respective characters. The end result is a decent comedy/drama that hopefully marks McCarthy’s first step towards a more varied selection of roles, as the actress demonstrates an impressive range here that indicates an ability to tackle more than just broadly-conceived comic-relief characters.

**1/2 out of ****