‘Tammy’ Bashed By Critics As Movie Heads Into Theaters

Tammy, the latest comedy from Melissa McCarthy, isn’t getting any love from critics as the movie heads into Theaters today.

Although comedies are decidedly difficult movies to review — after all, everyone’s funny bone tickles differently — it appears that most reviewers think Tammy is the sort of cinematic experience you might want to avoid altogether. McCarthy is definitely a funny lady, but apparently her latest effort has seriously missed the mark.

Unfamiliar with Tammy? Check out this handy synopsis:

“Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint and, instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the 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 her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only 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 grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs.”

Tammy might sound like the sort of summer movie to toss your hard-earned cash at this weekend, but let’s take a moment to consider the film’s Rotten Tomatoes score. As of this writing, Tammy sports an undeniably low 18 percent “fresh” rating. This suggests that the flick is essentially rotten from start to finish.

Boston Globe critic Ty Burr explained:

“‘Tammy’ is something unusual: A congenially terrible comedy. It’s not an insult to the intelligence, like “Identity Thief,” the acrid 2013 Melissa McCarthy misfire. Nor does it showcase McCarthy at her crassly funny best, like “Bridesmaids” or last summer’s “The Heat.” It just plonks down the actress and a handful of stellar co-stars without much in the way of a script, storyline, or actual jokes. Yet you may still come out with a smile on your face. It’s very odd.”

Time magazine’s Richard Corliss was equally unimpressed:

“‘Tammy,’ the new movie starring, produced and cowritten by Melissa McCarthy, could be an artifact from some alternate universe: the creatures there resemble Earthlings but have an entirely different and debased idea of what’s funny. Arriving in time for the July 4th weekend, ‘Tammy’ has the effect of a shoddily manufactured firecracker that weakly goes off in your hands — leaving no permanent damage, just a bitter memory.”

Fortunately for Melissa McCarthy and the folks at Warner Bros., a handful of critics walked away from Tammy with a few positive things to say about the comedy. For instance, Chicago Tribune reviewer Michael Phillips seemed to find the movie’s silver lining.

He wrote in his review:

“Small favors, but in ‘Tammy’ we have a less grating road-trip comedy than “Identity Thief,” the one Melissa McCarthy did with Jason Bateman, and a more deliberately heartwarming vehicle than ‘The Heat,’ featuring McCarthy and Sandra Bullock… In McCarthy, we have a performer we can trust to deliver laughs even when they barely exist on the page.”

Are you planning to catch Tammy on this big screen this weekend? Do you think the movie will find an audience despite the bad reviews?

[Image via Warner Bros.]