Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Tammy Blu-ray Movie Review

Extended? No thanks. Is there a shortened cut?

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown November 7, 2014

It wasn't so long ago that Melissa McCarthy was an upstart actress flipping the bird at Hollywood's image of a leading lady, and to the love of adoring fans everywhere. Now that Hollywood and movie-going audiences have embraced her f-bombing fem-child shtick, though, it's all becoming a bit tiresome. Manufactured even. In supporting roles, she's hilarious. Pecking away at the sanity of a film's protagonist and leaving an unforgettable mark. In the spotlight, she stumbles. Chipping away at any good will afforded her. Yes, McCarthy is disarmingly sweet and humble in person, and there is something to be said for any performer who so skillfully pushes the boundaries of good taste with such tenacity and ferocity. But there's a fine line between giving R-rated comedy junkies what they want and crippling a road trip dramedy that already features an unlikeable, down-on-her-luck loser. Sadly, Tammy is just another mile marker on McCarthy's journey toward oversaturation and irrelevance, with co-stars Susan Sarandon and Kathy Bates not just stealing scenes, but the entire film from the anointed bad girl of comedy.

Tammy (McCarthy) is having a bad day. After totaling her clunker of a car and getting fired from a thankless job at a greasy burger joint, she returns home to finds her husband getting... comfortable with a neighbor in her own house. It's time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she's broke and without wheels. The worse news is that her grandmother, Pearl (Sarandon), is her only option; an option with a car, cash and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with Pearl riding shotgun, Tammy discovers it might just be exactly the sort of escape she needed.

There's an effortlessness to pleasant Melissa McCarthy's transformation into obnoxious Tammy. Yet the actress is trying much too hard. Trying too hard to please. To entertain. To drop jaws. To shock. To awe. To leave her mark. Mugging for the camera and hamming it up for an audience the film is much too aware is watching. It doesn't help that there's a debilitating, sometimes grating predictability to Tammy's unpredictability; a string of easy-to-perceive calculations that inform every burst of seeming spontaneity. More than annoying, it's exhausting, with little rest for the invested and even less for the uninitiated. Even if you manage to take Tammy's antics at face value, it's difficult to sympathize and even more difficult to empathize, particularly since McCarthy is so set on presenting her character as a magnet for consequence rather than a victim of circumstance. And make no mistake: it's McCarthy who drives Tammy at every turn, in front of and behind the camera, pressing the creative advantage until the end result is almost entirely hers.

That also leaves actor turned first-time director Ben Falcone -- McCarthy's husband and co-screenwriter -- in an awkward position. Tammy and McCarthy are inseparable. The film and Falcone, less so. If the director has put a telltale stamp on the production, it's tough to spot. As a technician and talent wrangler, he's more than serviceable. As a storyteller, he leaves the heavy lifting to his actors. Tone, pacing, timing and structure are at the mercy of McCarthy, Sarandon, Bates, and the takes that make it to the editing bay; which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if improvisation were more of a driving force. Falcone and McCarthy are anxious to tackle meatier, carefully constructed material, though, which requires more intention and coordination. Without a steady hand at the wheel, the comedy tends to swerve and the plot begins to veer. Uncertainty pulses beneath the surface of each act (something a more seasoned director might have stamped out), and McCarthy's performance is really the only element that exudes any sense of confidence.

Sarandon is a standout, and easily the funniest character in the mix, but only because dear ol' grams is so colorful and Sarandon is so keen on leaping without looking into the bottom of whatever bottle is in Pearl's reach. Divorced from Sarandon's whip-smart delivery, there isn't a lot to Pearl, and it may only be by proximity to petulant Tammy that her alcoholic grandmother is so weirdly endearing. And if this were Pearl's story, that might be enough. Unfortunately it isn't. We're given Tammy, who could be one to root for if she weren't so insufferable.

Tammy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Tammy's 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation isn't all that remarkable, but then neither is its cinematography, which skews toward the mundane and innocuous. While colors are washed out and contrast too bright, the filmmakers' intentions have been honored without exception. Detail is also quite good, with clean, natural edge definition and revealing, often crisp fine textures. Grain is intact as well, and there isn't anything in the way of macroblocking, banding, aliasing, ringing or errant noise. The picture may not impress at first glance, but given time, its qualities become much more apparent. And it's hard to fault faithfulness, however ordinary that might be.

Tammy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track offers a low-key lossless experience, albeit one that does its job and does it well. Dialogue is clear, intelligible and capably prioritized, and dynamics are decidedly decent. LFE output is restrained but more than serviceable, rear speaker activity is subdued but effective, and the soundfield, though a bit on the front-heavy side, is enveloping enough to make the film's fast food joints, holding cells, roadside bars, spacious houses and forests reasonably convincing. Will Tammy's audio draw a crowd? Hardly. And yet there isn't really any aspect of the track that disappoints.

Tammy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Extended Cut of Tammy (HD): The Blu-ray/DVD/UltraViolet combo pack release of Tammy features the film's original 97-minute theatrical version and its 101-minute extended cut.
• Tammy's Road Trip Checklist (HD, 5 minutes): McCarthy and Falcone share road trip stories.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 5 minutes): A small collection of expendable deleted scenes.
• Fun Extras (HD, 6 minutes): A somewhat longer series of alternate takes.
• Gag Reel (HD, 3 minutes): The actors at least had fun on set.

Tammy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Tammy never quite figures out who it is or what it hopes to accomplish. It struggles, stumbles and suffers, and not in any compelling way. It's neither funny nor notably dramatic, and doesn't handle its genre mix with any nuance. Warner's Blu-ray release is more reliable, with a fit and faithful video presentation and solid DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, but it's yet another BD from the studio that's light on supplements. Bottom line? Even fans of McCarthy will want to rent before buying.