Page 22 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • July 16, 2014 ‘Tammy’ focuses on sad-sack with heart and soul by Dennis Seuling Melissa McCarthy stars as the title character in “Tammy,” a road trip film intended to showcase the actress’ willing- ness to go to any lengths to get a laugh. Tammy is having a tough day. Within the first 10 minutes of the movie, she hits a deer and destroys her car, is fired from her fast-food res- taurant job, and discovers her husband two-timing her with a neighbor. Tammy gathers her belongings and trudges two houses away to see her mom (Allison Janney). She pours out her problems and talks about her eagerness to get out of town. Grandma Pearl (Susan Sarandon) overhears the com- motion, and is already packed. She has a car and a bankroll, and together the women strike out for brighter opportuni- ties. At this point, the film shifts gears and becomes a road trip, as the two traveling companions make numerous stops where they encounter an assortment of colorful folks and manage to get themselves into one predicament after another. Pearl’s drinking attracts trouble, and Tammy’s aggressive manner puts people off. They are the perfect nightmare on wheels. Co-written by McCarthy and husband Ben Falcone, “Tammy” becomes a retread of McCarthy’s antics from previous and better films, such as “Bridesmaids” and “Identity Thief.” Tammy — brash, coarse, politically incorrect whenever possible, and a social misfit — is the best aspect of the film. However, the script does not live up Pearl (Susan Sarandon) and her granddaughter (Melissa McCarthy) find themselves in a predicament in ‘Tammy.’ to McCarthy’s talents. For a comedy, this film is short on laughs, maybe because the writers take a lot of time show- ing that Tammy is essentially likable. So much of the movie is dedicated to burnishing the character that many of the jokes fall flat or elicit little reac- tion. The picture rests largely on McCarthy’s shoulders, and the burden might be too great. With such pros as Janney and Kathy Bates on hand, some of the comedy should have been spread around. When Tammy meets Bobby (Mark Duplass) in a bar, a romance sparks, though it is pretty much one-sided at first. Here the film becomes sentimental and pushes away any real comedy. Duplass is not much of an actor and serves mostly as a bouncing board for McCarthy’s antics. With his nearly invisible screen presence, his Bobby hardly makes an impression. Sarandon is entirely miscast as Pearl. Her ladylike qual- ity shines from beneath the gray curly wig and undermines the character’s raunchiness and makes her drunken rants and awkwardly flirtatious escapades more pathetic than funny. It may have seemed hysterical to the writers to have a heavy-drinking, promiscuous senior citizen palling around with her ne’er-do-well granddaughter, but script, actors, and director could not breathe comic life into the premise. There is chemistry between Sarandon and McCarthy, but it is squandered due to the unimaginative script. Certain set pieces fall dismally flat. The robbery of a fast-food restaurant and a jet-ski mishap are elaborate sequences that never deliver intended chuckles. Rated R for some strong language, “Tammy” is a half- hearted attempt to channel McCarthy’s charm into a woman who seems to be forever under a black cloud. As comedies go, “Tammy” is weak, although those who are into stories about rebooting one’s life might enjoy it.