Melissa McCarthy's skyrocketing popularity thanks to standout performances in box office hits Bridesmaids, The Heat, and Identity Thief landed her enough clout in 2014 that she could co-write, produce and star in her own wide release feature film, Tammy. Co-written and directed by McCarthy's husband, Ben Falcone, the film places McCarthy in a fairly conventional road trip scenario, pairs her with Susan Sarandon as her feisty alcoholic grandmother, and surrounds them both with a supporting cast of comedy ringers against which they can riff/improvise.
Studio: Warner Brothers
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HDMA, Spanish 5.1 DD, French 5.1 DD, Other
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Portuguese
Rating: R
Run Time: 1 Hr. 37 Min.(Theatrical) 1 Hr. 40 Min.(Extended)
Package Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, UltraViolet
Standard sized Blu-ray case with two disc hubs and cardboard slipcoverDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer), DVD-9 (dual layer)
Region: A, 1
Release Date: 11/11/2014
MSRP: $35.99
The Production Rating: 3/5
Directed by: Ben Falcone
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Dan Aykroyd, Kathy Bates, Mark Duplass, Nat Faxon, Toni Collette, and Sandra Oh
Melissa McCarthy stars as Tammy who hits a deer with her Corolla, gets fired from her fast food job, and discovers that her husband Greg (Faxon) is having an affair with her neighbor Missy (Collette) before she is even out of the movie's first reel. Despondent, she packs up her belongings and heads for her mother's (Janney) house down the street. Tammy's plans to skip town in her Grandmother Pearl's (Sarandon) car are thrown for a loop when Pearl insists she take her along as well. Thank's to alcohol, pills, and a lifetime of questionable decisions, Pearl is carrying almost as much personal baggage as Tammy, making their planned trip to Niagara Falls a challenge of much more than distance.
Howard Hawks once said that a good movie consists of at least three great scene and no bad ones. Tammy has one great scene (involving the robbery of a fast food joint), and it does not have any really bad ones, either. That may not fully meet the criteria, but it is still good for a few laughs.
McCarthy is a skilled comedienne who can milk humor out of almost any premise or situation and Sarandon is a more than capable comic foil for her (although her being cast as McCarthy's grandmother and Janney's mother strains credulity) . The supporting cast is peppered with a dream team of character actors inclusive of Kathy Bates as Cousin Lenore, Gary Cole as Bobby, a heavy drinking barfly who strikes up a hot and heavy relationship with Pearl, and Dan Aykroyd as Tammy's father Don. The skills of these actors, along with comedy ringers like Mark Duplass and Sarah Baker keep the film dependably funny, but the flimsy premise and lack of narrative direction (paralleling the journey depicted in the film), prevents it from ever approaching greatness.
In addition to the theatrical cut of Tammy, this Blu-ray includes an extended cut that runs a little over three minutes longer. The extended version underlines a few plot points, offers a few new comedic scenes, and slightly expands a few of the sequences from the theatrical film. It neither improves nor undermines the theatrical cut in any significant way. Additions that I noticed while watching the extended cut included:
- A slightly longer Jet Ski montage
- An added scene at a gas station convenience store where Pearl buys a lottery ticket and Tammy first notices Pearl’s ankles swelling. (the longest single addition)
- Extra dialog about a wooden eagle
- Tammy’s inept "come-on" to two guys in a bar lasts a bit longer
- The “Thrift Shop" scored musical interlude prior to a robbery is extended
- An additional “Thrift Shop” coda after the robbery sequence is added
- An added scene near the end of the film where Tammy gets a send off from her parents before heading off on a second road trip.
- An added scene immediately before the credits with Tammy working as a waitress trying to talk a customer out of ordering ribs
- An added interstitial scene during the credits in which Tammy’s Dad settles things with her former boss
- A title card with additional credits for the Extended Cut
Tammy Playlist
Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 3.5/5
Special Features Rating: 3/5
- Horrible Bosses 2 Theatrical Trailer
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Theatrical Trailer
Tammy’s Road Trip Checklist (4:28) in which Writer/Producer Melissa McCarthy (“Tammy”) and Director/Producer Ben Falcone discuss the possibly over ambitious road trip they took with their young children after the making of the film while offering semi-tongue in cheek travel tips. Their interview is preceded by brief comments about real-life road trips taken by Kathy Bates (”Lenore”) and Susan Sarandon (”Pearl”).
Gag Reel (3:22) is a modestly amusing collection of dialog flubs and prop issues caught on camera during the making of the film.
Delete Scenes (4:49 w/”play all”) includes a collection of four deleted and/or alternate scenes that did not appear in the theatrical or extended editions of the film.
- Strip Club 1 is a cut scene where Tammy and Pearl discuss the unusually good chowder at a strip club they visit and tie quite a few drinks on.
- Strip Club 2 is an alternate version of the above in which Tammy and Pearl discuss how surprisingly nice the strip club and its crab legs are, tie quite a few drinks on and a surprise dancer takes the stage
- Ski Burger is a cut sequence in which Tammy and Pearl place wildly different orders at a hamburger stand and then discuss their views on healthy habits.
- Hot Tub is an extended version of a scene near the end of the film with some additional dialog.
- Poom-O-Rama (1:44) offers multiple improvised takes of a scene where Tammy flips of her her boss after being fired
- Wave-O-Rama (2:02) offers multiple alternate takes of Tammy “hot-dogging” on a Jet Ski
- Mindless Chat-O-Rama (2:07) includes multiple improvised bits of humorous small talk between Tammy and Pearl while driving
When the SD DVD is first played, the viewer is greeted with the following series of skippable promos:
- Horrible Bosses 2 Theatrical Trailer
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Theatrical Trailer
- Into the Storm Home Video Trailer
- The Judge Theatrical Trailer
- This is Where I Leave You Home Video Trailer
- Jupiter Ascending Theatrical Trailer
Overall Rating: 3/5
Reviewed By: Ken_McAlinden
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